A Stitch in Time
by Calmer of the Storm
Summary: A perfect day at the beach ends in disaster. The digidestind have been transported to a place and time that they never even imagine they'd be. Now, things are falling apart, and they have no way to get home.
1. A perfect day at the beach

Calmer of the Storm: Hello! I'm back with that story idea I was talking about…I'm gonna give it a shot. I'll se how this turns out…if ya don't like it, I won't write it! Sound fair? Anyhoo, I'm rather miffed at myself at the moment…I had this _great _idea for an epilogue for 'Learning to Love again: Revised Edition' but guess what? I forgot it!!! *cries hysterically* But If you really want one…I could try to remember…

Cody: Just get on with the fic

Calmer of the Storm: Okay! By the way, I don't own anything! Okay, yes I do own some things, but let's not get technical here! I don't own anything that has to do with the story, 'cept the plot, and maybe some things that I haven't made up yet…

It was a beautiful morning in Odaiba. The sun was out, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was basically your stereotypical nice day. It was a July day, and students (the ones who hadn't failed anything) were enjoying summer vacation. 

The digidestind, the ones who were still at home, were all getting ready for a day at the beach. They had a spot, one down past the outskirts, where the beach was compiled mostly of rocks. Technically they weren't supposed to be there, but no one really seemed to care. They came here because the water itself was no different, the rocks were large and flat, perfect for a picnic, tanning, cliff-diving, or whatever else one would prefer. The main reason they came here was because of the fact that there were no other people. Either no one knew about it, or they just couldn't care for the craggy coastline.

The only two who weren't able to make it, were Joe and Koushiro. Joe was still at school, though this was a matter of choice. He was studying somewhere in America, and rumours were heard that he had met a girl to whom he had taken a liking to. Koushiro was not in school, but an opportunity had been given to him to work with some of Tokyo University's top technicians, and he immediately jumped at the chance. 

Both of them felt bad for not being able to make it, but everyone understood. Some things in life are more important than others. 

The smell of eggs and bacon filled the Yagami residence. Hikari was up and about, and she had all of her stuff ready, unlike her older brother, Taichi. Tai, as most called him, was still in bed. He had not even awakened yet.

After eating, Hikari decided that it was time to wake her brother up.

"C'mon Taichi, it's time to wake up. The others will be expecting us soon." 

The only response she got was a moan for her brother.

"Seriously Tai, I don't want to have to do this…" she stared down at the sheets below her.

"Go away, Hikari. It's-" he poked his head from the sheets, and glanced at the clock, "Geez Hikari! Why must you bother me at this ungodly hour?"

"Tai, it's 10:30. We're supposed to be at the beach in half an hour." 

No response.

"Alright, you made me do this…"

With that, the brunette girl ripped the sheets from her brother, and doused him with the ice cold water, complete with ice cubes, that she had been holding behind her back.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Taichi shot out of bed.

"Tai, you scream like a girl." she stated flatly.

"That's cold!" he accused, wide-eyed.

Hikari was in the process of exiting the room, and called back over her shoulder. "That was sort of the point. Now get ready. I heard Sora got a new bikini…"

Hikari slammed the door shut just before the pillow hit her head.

A few moments later, Taichi emerged from his room, fully dressed with towel in hand. He already wore his swimming suit, as did his sister. This was to avoid any hassle. Tossing his towel aside, Tai planted himself down at the kitchen table. There, his mother placed in front of him some bacon, eggs, and toast. 

Taichi looked at it, and poked it before deciding that it was safe to eat. His mother was quite proud of her cooking, and no one had the heart to tell her that she wasn't as good as she thought she was. But, who could screw up bacon and eggs? He hoped no one could. 

"Taichi!" yelled Hikari from the front door.

"Arfds djeor herseree eer r takaer eraerthyb er dkepr!" 

"Taichi, sweetie, swallow your food first." said Mrs. Yagami.

He swallowed. "I'm coming, geez! I know you want to see Takeru topless but-" he was cut off by a look from his mother.

"Sorry." he muttered before shovelling the last bit of food in his mouth. He stood up, and placed the plate in the sink, then went to the front door where he was greeted by a glaring Kari. He smirked, and slipped on his shoes, and left the apartment. 

~*~

At the Takaishi house, things weren't much different, except for the fact that it was the younger this time that was having trouble waking up. Yamato had spent the night, as he knew that his brother would show up late if he were alone. Takeru was almost as hard as Taichi to get out of bed, though Yamato Ishida knew of ways to persuade his brother. 

"Let's go, Takeru. I'll drag you out of bed and down to the beach in your boxers if you don't wake up." the older blonde threatened. 

"I'd like to see you try." Takeru mumbled. 

"And no breakfast."

"Hear the caring in my voice?"

"And I'll make sure that Hikari knows all of your deepest, darkest secrets including the fact that you lo-"

No more words needed to be spoken, as Takeru flew out of bed, and ran into the bathroom. Yamato smirked, and popped a waffle into the toaster.

Finally, the two brothers were also on their way down to the beach.

~*~

Mimi was spending the summer with Sora, so that she could be with her friends. Living in New York didn't give her a chance to see them all that often, so she took all the chances she could get. Sora had a hunch that the girl was more interested in spending time with Yamato than anyone else, but she kept those thoughts to herself.

Sora and Yamato had dated, and that was when Sora clued into her friend's feelings for him. Sora had always been known to be very perceptive, and this scenario was no exception. She noticed that whenever she would talk about her and Yamato's relationship, Mimi would immediately clam up, which us very un-Mimi like. She would also try and change the subject.

Since then, Yamato and Sora had broken up, as they both realized that it would probably be better if they were merely friends (very good ones at that) and they thought that maybe they had accidentally altered the line between friendship and love. 

Besides, Sora recently found herself with feelings toward a certain boy with gravity deifying brown hair…

"Sora!!" a shrill voice called out, snapping the redhead from her trance.

"Sorry, I'm coming." She picked up her bags, as she had some food, and headed out.

~*~

Yolei was just gathering a few things from her family store. Her boyfriend, Ken Ichijouji was due to pick her up in a manner of minutes. Grabbing a plastic bad, she shoved the things that she had placed on the counter into it, just in time to look out the door to see Ken's car out the window. 

Taking everything, she headed out the door. She stopped to see if she had forgotten anything. 

Cody, the youngest of the digidestind, was also in the store with her. Since they lived in the same complex, they were all going together.

Yolei opened the door, and greeted her boyfriend with a quick peck on the cheek. She tossed her things in the back, as Cody was silently crawling into the other side. 

~*~

The three of them were the first to arrive, and were followed closely by the brother and sister team of Hikari and Taichi.

"Wow Kari, you actually got him up before noon!" Yolei proclaimed.

She smiled, "There's nothing like a bit of cold water to do the trick."

The others laughed.

Soon after, Sora and Mimi pulled in. The seven of them headed down to the spot. 

Hikari laid out the blankets that she had brought, and Yolei and Sora placed out the food. 

The sun was out, and the rocks were rather hot, but as long as they were on the blankets, they were fine. 

Finally, the two brothers showed up. 

"There, now we're all here." Takeru stated with a smile. He was being hopeful.

"Well, not really. Have you forgotten about Daisuke?" 

Takeru sweatdropped. "It had to be Hikari who brought it up…" he muttered to himself.

"What's that baby brother? I don't think the rest of us heard that." Matt teased.

"Quiet, or I'll call Davis and tell him to bring Jun along."

Yamato shut up immediately.

After about fifteen minutes, sure enough, the maroon headed boy came bounding across the rocks.

"I'm here!" he announced. The others sweatdropped. He immediately took his place beside Hikari. It was no secret that he had feelings for her, and it also wasn't one that she hadn't any for him. Sometimes they asked her why she didn't pursue him. By no means was he ugly, in fact, he was rather handsome. A lot of girls were actually jealous of the Yagami girl, and were enraged at the fact that she could get so much attention from a guy, and just shrug him off.

There were two reasons for this, one being that she already had her heart set on someone else. The only people oblivious to this were Davis himself, and Takeru, the one who held her heart without even knowing it. 

The other reason would be the fact that Hikari saw beyond the childish crush. Yes, she admitted, it was sometimes fun to toy with the boy's heart, and flirting certainly wasn't out of the picture. Sometimes she did it just so she could get a reaction from the blonde, and sometimes just to see Davis tongue-tied. Hikari saw the feelings he had for her, everyone did, but she also saw that all it was was a crush. She knew he'd get over it as soon as someone else walked into his life. Daisuke was a good friend, she wouldn't trade that for the world, yet she didn't see him as boyfriend material. She just couldn't make herself love the hyper childlike manner of the boy. She had to say he was a bit of a lunkhead at times, but that's what made him Davis none the less.

Takeru, on the other hand, was seething with jealousy. He had taken his seat to Hikari's right, as Daisuke had taken the left. The older ones watched with amused looks on their faces, though said nothing. 

"So, do we eat now, or do we swim a little bit first?" Sora asked.

"I say we swim a little." Yamato stated.

"You just want to see M-" Takeru was cut off when his older sibling brutally attacked him.

"I think that's a good idea." Yolei stated.

Everyone was already in their swimming things, so it was just a matter of taking clothes off. Taichi was the first to do so, and was barley seen as he tore across the rocks and plunged into the ocean. Yamato wasn't far behind him. Hikari stood up, and walked back to the van, followed closely by TK, then Daisuke.

Sora shook her head. "Those three…"

"I wonder when they'll finally figure it out. I mean, the only ones who haven't are them themselves." Yolei stated.

"Who cares? It's fun to watch." Ken said, before he too leaped into the water. 

Mimi and Yolei laid themselves out on the rocks, while Sora just sat there. Neither of them really had any need to be in the water. However, some of the others thought differently.

Pulling himself up out of the water, Taichi wore an evil grin. He quickly wiped it away and casually walked over to where the girls were sitting. 

"You girls gonna join us?" he asked.

"Not yet." Sora replied.

"Oh. Well then." 

Without warning, the boy quickly picked up the redhead girl, who screamed in protest.

"TAICHI YAGAMI! YOU PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!" she yelled.

"If you insist…" with that, the boy dropped her into the water. 

She emerged moments later with a dreadful look on her face, and if looks could kill, Taichi would have been long gone. 

"YOU'RE DEAD YAGAMI!" She threatened, and leaped out of the water. Taichi, knowing better than to press her further, ran for his life. The two disappeared over the rocks.

The threesome of Kari, TK and Davis reappeared soon after that. They didn't need to ask, they had heard the whole thing. They were carrying noodles. (Actually, the boys were. Hikari had taken advantage of the fact that she knew they'd acquiesce to her every request). 

The digidestind were having a good time, to say the least. It seemed that nothing could go wrong. Everything was perfect. They were surrounded by friends (and family, for some) and the weather was perfect. There had been no troubles in the Digital World for a while now, but hey still got to talk to their very close friends, the digimon, every once in a while. 

All of them had taken a break, and they were starting to eat. Actually, Daisuke and Taichi were eating. Everyone else was watching. It seemed that they hadn't brought enough food…

The day passed slowly, much to the delight of the chosen children. They fooled around, and acted more like little kids than anything else. At one point, they even managed to all be in the water at the same time. Matt had mysteriously coaxed Mimi into the water, to the surprise of everyone else. 

When they had started to pack up, was when things really started to happen.

The Digidestind were oblivious to the things around them, and had loaded everything up. They had decided to stay and watch the sunset, as it was always breathtaking from that particular spot on the coastline.

"Well, I'd say tat this was a good day." Yamato commented. 

"Uh-huh." Tai replied.

"We should probably get going now; we've stayed later than we planned. Some of our parents might be worried." Ken mused.

"Yeah, our parents have probably already called the police." Hikari muttered, standing up.

Just as the girl was about to leap off the borderline rock onto the grass where the cars were parked, a maniacal laugh rang through the air.

Immediatley, the others leapt up, and they all looked for the source of the noise. 

A cloud of smoke appeared overhead, and inside was a rather odd looking creature. It wasn't very tall, maybe three feet at the most. It was robed in a flowing cloak that glistened with all sorts of colours. It wore a hat, and it came down over its forehead. Under the cloak was what seemed to be a shirt, and it was laced up the side with yellow string. The 'shirt' itself was red. The creatures eyes were a piercing green, and it held a golden staff in its right hand. 

"Ugh, it has no sense of colour whatsoever…" Was the first thing out of Mimi's mouth? This, of course, was nothing but the truth, but only Mimi could say something like that at such a time. 

"Uh, would you mind letting us pass? I mean, if you want the beach, you can have it. We're done." This, of course, was Davis.

It laughed again. "You really are foolish children!" It floated closer to them. "I don't see how the likes of _you _could have defeated such foes as you have."

They stared at him blankly.

It rolled its eyes. "I am Oraclemon. I have come to destroy the likes of you digidestind."

The chosen children walked passed him, and headed towards the vehicles.

"Hey!" he called.

"Look man, we want to humour you and all, but this is just getting old. Why don't you save yourself and go home like a good little evil digimon." Tai said.

At this point, the digimon looked like it would explode. 

"Fools! Do not underestimate my power! I will do to you what no other has done, and you won't have your little friends to help you out!"

With that, the digimon held up the staff. The jewel on the end of it began to shine brightly. The digidestind were lifted from the ground, and turned to see the laughing face of Oraclemon.

"Let's see you get out of _this _mess!"

The digidestind looked down, and found themselves disappearing.

"What's going on?" screamed Hikari.

Oraclemon smirked. "Why don't you wait and find out?"

The last of the digidestind disappeared into thin air. They were gone from this world, and this time, for that matter. They were unwillingly plunged into an adventure like none other that they had experienced, and this time, there were no digimon to help them.

Calmer of the Storm: Okay okay, that came out rather cheesy…but it's just the intro! It gets better, I promise! Please, just bear with me…and review! If I get a sufficient amount, I'll continue…please! You know you want to….


	2. ends in disaster

Calmer of the Storm: Wow! I am so sorry this took so long! You see, I write as I go along, and I just haven't had the time to! Again, I'm very sorry! I'm going to try and make this story a little deeper than I usually do, if at all possible. Like I said, even now as I write this author's note, I have no clue how this chapter's going to end up. So, I guess I should get on with it, eh?

A voice rang through the air, though it was soft, and fading. It was the unmistakeable voice of Oraclemon, the one who had gotten them all into this mess.

__

"Only when things have been restored to the right, will you be able to return to your time…if you do, you must find the gate. It will not find itself……"

The voice faded among the wind. The digidestind, scattered around, heard it only in their heads.

~*~

Takeru woke up, his head spinning. He looked around him. He was in a forest, and a very dense one at that. The air around him was damp and thick. The forest was old as the trees reached high above him. He had no clue where he was. 

The boy could hear the faintest voices around him, though he couldn't distinguish who they were, or how far away they were. Slowly, as he began to come to, he could make out the unmistakable voice of Daisuke, and the incessant whine of Mimi. 

"Ugh…" he groaned.

Yamato lifted his head. "Hey, he's awake!"

"Wh-where am I?" TK asked as he sat up.

"Actually, we're not sure. All we've concluded is that we're in the middle of nowhere, in a very big forest."

Takeru gave him a bland look. As he did this, he noticed something. They were no longer wearing their beach clothes. Each person was wearing an old looking style of outfit, all of them shades of green and brown. He guessed that that was the reason for Mimi's complaining. He looked down, and realized that he too was dressed in the same way.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Well, we don't know that either." Yamato replied.

"Great, just great." Takeru huffed, planting himself next to his brother.

He took another glance around, and noticed that not all of them were there. Sora, Hikari, Yolei, and Cody were all missing.

"Where are the others? Did they go somewhere?"

"Uh, well, it's funny that you ask that. We don't know where they are. They weren't here when we woke up."

"What?!" he exclaimed, horrified at the thought that Kari was somewhere else.

Matt threw up his, "Hey man, we feel the same way you do, and we figured that we should find out a little more about this place than to go wandering off into the forest. Who knows what kinds of animals and things are out there. We don't even know if we're in the real world. We could be in another one, with monsters more terrifying than a raging monocromon. For all we know, we could be here for a very long time. So just relax, we'll find something."

Takeru was silent. 

Tai stood up. "Well, I think that we should at least check out surroundings. Like Matt said, don't go too far. We can't afford to get lost, and there's sometime about this forest that tells me that that won't be all that hard. 

TK's head still greatly hurt him, so he was allowed to stay behind. 

The four other boys spread out, and Mimi followed Yamato. She had complained and whined the whole time, and Takeru wouldn't have been able to stand it with his headache. Yamato seemed to be the only one that could handle it.

The younger blonde knew it was because his brother had lately been having feelings for the girl. Takeru was very shocked to hear such a thing, as Yamato wasn't the most patient man in the world, and Mimi was not known to be quiet. Then again, like himself, Yamato had the ability to see the good in people before anything else. 

Mimi was very sincere (maybe a little too sincere at times) and she always spoke her mind. Not caring what anyone else thought of her was also and admirable trait that not many people possess. She was also very sweet and kind-hearted, though, she had a tendency to whine when things didn't go her way. Though, she was getting over it. And, Takeru had to admit, she wasn't all that bad looking. In fact, she was rather beautiful. Many of her previous boyfriends had dated her only for this.

~*~

While searching, Tai was able to find a path. It was wide, and seemed to be a main road that passed through the seemingly endless sea of trees. 

Deciding this was enough of information, he headed back for their 'camp'. When he got there, he found that Yamato, Mimi and Daisuke had also returned. Ken followed soon after.

"Did you guys find anything?" Takeru grumbled. He was in a rather irritable mood, for various reasons. One being that he was stranded in the middle of an unknown forest, and had no way to get home. The second was that he was worried sick about Kari, and knew that Tai was probably going through much of the same thing. The third was that he had suffered a blow to the head, and had a massive migraine. 

"There's a big path just out that way." Tai pointed out past the biggest tree in the area. "If you got strait, you should come across it quite quickly."

"I found a path too, though it's rather overgrown. It seems that it hasn't been used in a while." Ken reported.

"We found a little spring out there." Matt pointed to his left. "There also seems to be a place where supplies are stored; there was a small cave that held what looked to be old burlap sacs."

"I found some trees." Daisuke mentioned.

"Nothing else?" Tai asked.

"Nope."

"Oh."

"Well, I have an idea. Why don't we head out to that path that Tai found, and split up on it? We can mark our place somehow, and follow the path to see where it goes." suggested Ken.

Tai shrugged, "We have nothing better to do. Maybe we'll find someone else." He looked over to Takeru, "Will you be alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine I guess. A little walking never hurt anybody."

The six of them headed out. They soon came across the path that Taichi had been talking about. He was right, it looked well-travelled. 

"Well, Davis, Ken and I will head this way, and you three go that way. I'd say travel for half an hour, then turn around. If it starts to get dark before then, turn around immediately and come back. We don't know what things come out a night." Tai told them. The others agreed with this.

They headed off down the road.

~*~

Cody found himself lying on the ground. It was cold, and hard, and felt like stone. It was dark, as there were no lights. He wasn't sure where he was, and didn't really feel like finding out. 

He was brought out of his state when something warm, and very wet, touched his face. He felt hot breath, and it smelt bad. He opened his eyes, and found that he was staring into the big brown eyes of a rather large bloodhound. Needless to say, he was immediately woken up. He rose, and flung himself away from the dog, only to find another right behind him. Scurrying away once again, he found yet another dog. Terrified out of his wits, Cody dove and hid under one of the benches that was in the building.

The dogs followed him, but didn't seem interested in mauling him to death. Actually, they looked kind of glad to see him moving again. Cody peered up at the dogs, and found them all lying nicely beside the bench. They seemed friendly. 

"Uh…hello there…" he said. 

The dogs merely looked at him.

"…Where did you guys come from?" Cody's eyes drifted across the room, and he saw three wooded bowls laid out by the door. On the other side, there were three mats, about the size of the dogs. It seemed as if he was intruding on _their _home.

"Okay, that answers that question…So, where's your owner? Are they here?" Cody scolded himself. He was talking to dogs. _Dogs_. 

He noticed that there was another door, and decided to check it out. Peering at the dogs once more, he slowly opened it. They did not stir. 

Inside, there was a bed. It wasn't a huge elaborate one, but it was a bed none the less. On the opposite side of the room, there was a table and a series of shelves. Looking over, he found various herbs and spics upon the shelves, all labelled neatly. It seemed to be some sort of working area.

Leaving the room, he saw that the dogs still had not moved. Glancing around, he noticed something. The room was large, and had a series of benches. They were all in rows. He had seen this sight before, though in a more modern sense. He suspected as to what this place was. Looking up to the front, his suspicions were confirmed. There, at the front, was a large, wooden cross. It was a church. 

Looking down, Cody realized he wasn't wearing his normal clothes. He was dressed in a brown robe, complete with a hood. The robe was held closed with a piece of rope that went around his waist. He looked like a monk.

__

'How did I get here? Where exactly is _here? Where is everyone? How do I get home?'_

~*~

Moaning, Hikari opened her eyes, and found that she was in a small room, dimly lit. She was lying in a bed, small, but comfortable. On the table beside her, was a series of bandages and a bowl of what looked to be water.

Glancing around, she saw that the walls were made of stone. There was a window to her left, and by the looks of it, she was at least on the second or third floor of some building. How she got there, she did not know.

Across the room, there was a rather antique looking armoire. It was huge, and looked to be oak. It extended up to the ceiling, and the handles of gold had been formed into intricate designs. Beside that, there was another door. Where that led, she wasn't sure.

The sound of a door opening (a different one) caught her attention. She slowly turned her head, as she was still rather groggy. 

In the doorway, stood a short, and rather stout woman. She was dressed in a black outfit, with what looked to be some sort of apron, which was white, over top. The woman turned, and noticed that the girl was awake. Her face brightened at the sight.

"My lady! You are awake! We were all so worried about you. After the fall…"

Hikari was confused. "Where am I?" she asked.

"Why, you're in the castle, silly! It's where you've always been! At the moment, though, you are in the healing ward. You suffered a blow to the head after you fell…I always told you not to go into that forest. It's dangerous, you know. And the bandits that live there! You never know what they could do to you!"

The woman rambled more, and Hikari still had no idea what was going on. Obviously, this woman thought she was someone she was not.

"Oh! I almost forgot. The lord will be delighted to see you! He was so worried about you…the poor man. Although, my lady, please take it easy..." she leaned in close, "Rumour has it that he is going to ask for your hand in marriage". She giggled lightly to end off the comment.

This sent of alarms in Kari's head. "What?! I can't get _married_! I don't even know where I am! How can I marry someone I don't know! For Pete's sake, I don't even know who _you _are!"

The woman was appalled. "My lady! How could you say such things? You have lived here your whole life, and you know that the master has a liking for you!"

Hikari's mind was spinning. She didn't know what to do. 

The woman pondered for a moment, then spoke. "Maybe, my lady, your memory was impaired after the fall. You hit your head very hard, and you've been asleep for a long time. You woke up a few times, but it seems you don't remember them…" her voice was soft and gentle, which surprised Kari.

She brightened, "But we'll just have to _make_ you remember! I'm sure after seeing the sights you'll be sure to remember everything! Now, I must go tell the others about this. We can't have people coming in here, it would be much too overwhelming for you. Get some rest now, my lady, and I'll see you later!" The woman smiled brightly, and left.

Kari sighed, and laid back on her pillow.

__

'Oh, now what have we digidestind gotten ourselves into?'

~*~

Yolei was scurrying about, trying to get done the things that were being ordered at her. She didn't know what she had done, but realised that she was in a _lot _of trouble. 

Apparently, she had been sleeping in the flour store, slacking off. All she remembered was being found there, and then being beaten. Now, she was cleaning, dusting, and complying to the whims of whatever her 'master' told her to do.

She had put together that she was some sort of maid, or slave. She was in a castle; that wasn't hard to conclude. What did befuddle her, was how she got there. At one moment, she was on the beach, and the next…She stopped.

"Oraclemon…"

"Get back to work, you wench!" She heard a cruel voice behind her call. Immediately, she went back to dusting what looked to be a portrait of some sort or ruler.

~*~

Sora was sitting at a wooden table, staring blankly at her food. Her 'family' around her constantly asked her if she was alright. She assured them she was. 

She had woken up outside, on what seemed to be the front lawn of a house. The house was rather large, and the only one around, for that matter. She didn't recall much, except the frantic voices of people all around her. They were shouting odd things, and calling her names (at least, she _thought _they were talking to her) that she did not recognise. 

Now, they had convinced themselves that she had gone mad in her apparent time that she had spent in the forest. According to them, she had run away two weeks ago, furious about something. They never told her what it was. Now, they said, she had returned after realizing her mistake, but the time in the wilderness had impaired her memory, among other things.

Sora was beyond confused. 

"Sweetie, are you going to eat? You haven't eaten in a long time…You must be very hungry."

"Uh, no, I'm fine. I think I'll go up to bed…" standing up, Sora went into her room. The house was nice, and this family was obviously well off. She wasn't sure what everyone was so excited about, and apparently there was to be an important visitor the next day. 

He flopped down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling. The house was all one floor, and made of wood and stone. Her mind was swirling with thoughts, as she wondered where she was, where the others were, and how to find them and get home. 

She had concluded that they were still in the real world, just maybe not in the same time as they were used to. Sora was one who loved history, and y ancient kind especially. She recognised the clothing and housing styles here, and concluded that it seemed to bee sometime around the 1600's. The medieval era. At least, it's what it looked to be. Then again, as all of the digidestind had learned (the hard way, at that) that things aren't always as they seem.

~*~

After wandering a little, Takeru, Yamato and Mimi came across a village. They saw that in the distance, there was a castle.

"Where are we, Yamato?" Takeru asked in awe of what he was witnessing.

"I'm not sure, Tee." he replied, equally stunned.

Out if instinct Mimi grabbed onto Matt's hand, and clung to his arm. The blonde boy seemed to busy to notice.

"Well, the sky still isn't all that dark, so why don't we go down? We can ask some townspeople where we are. Hopefully they're somewhat hospitable." Takeru said, looking at his brother.

Matt slowly nodded. "Yeah…" he replied, and they headed down.

As they entered the village, they came across the main street. They figured that that's what it was after seeing all the merchants and stands. 

As they passed, the three began to notice that the people would stare at them, and whisper among themselves. Some of them had even come over to ask for money. Confused and a little frightened, they simply told them that they had none. 

"I don't like this, Matt. The people are all staring at us…" Mimi remarked.

"It's alright, we'll be out of here in a minute. We just have to get some information as to where we are."

"Hey, TK, take care of Mimi a moment, will you? I'll just go talk to this vendor over here, then we can go." 

The younger boy nodded, and Yamato left them.

TK wandered to the side of the street. He noticed that on the side of the wall, there was a sign. Reading it, he saw that it was a wanted sign. 

"Hey Mimi, come look at this."

The brunette girl made her way over. She too read the sign.

It read:

****

Wanted

__

Robin Hood, for theft and treason

Dead or alive

Reward

Sir Guy of Gisbourne

"Wow…we must have been thrown back in time." Mimi commented.

"Yeah…"

Yamato ran up behind them, and pulled them away.

"Takeru, we have to get out of here!" he said.

"What? Why?" he asked, confused.

"I'll explain later. For now, we have to get back into the forest before too many other people see us."

The two others quickly obeyed, and the three travellers fled for the cover of the woods. When they reached the tree line, Matt stopped them. His breathing was hard.

"I talked to that merchant, and I know everything. I know where we are, when we are, and even who we are."

"I don't understand, Matt, I-" 

Matt cut his younger sibling off.

"Takeru, listen to me. You saw that sign, right? The wanted one?"

He nodded.

"Takeru, _you _are Robin Hood."

The boy's eyes went wide, "What?! No I'm not! I'm just a-"

"Listen to me! Oraclemon has transported us here. Don't you see? We have been put n the places of historical characters, fact and fiction. You are Robin hood, and we are your band of merry men. We live in Sherwood forest, and this town is Nottingham." He paused a moment, and waited for it to sink in.

"We have to find Cody, Kari, Yolei and Sora. Then, we have to restore things to the way they're supposed to be."

"Why, what's wrong?" Mimi asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, but you heard those things that Oraclemon said, didn't you? We have to put things right, in order to get home. That means that something is _wrong_. We also have to figure that out."

TK held a thoughtful look on his face. "If we can find Sora, she'll help us. She's the one that knows history inside and out."

Matt nodded. "But we also have to lay low. There are prices on out heads, we are outlaws. Now, let's get back to our camp and tell the others what we've found.


	3. Reunions

Calmer of the Storm: hides from all the angry readers Sorry!!!!! Really I am!! I've been swamped with ISU's (really big projects) and I've been in Boston for and band trip, and I was just in Kingston for Youth convention (awesome time… God moved in powerful ways) and I'm really stressed out! (plus it was my birthday on the 11...I'm 16 now, yes!! Ahaha! All you people on the Ontario roads ((particularly around Ottawa)) better watch out! I don't have the best steering capabilities) Okay well, enough rambling…here I go again!

I'm actually not really a Mimato fan (I prefer Joumi) but it works with this story.

-----

Hikari, after being told that she was well enough to leave the healing ward, was led back to her room. She had learned that she was in some sort of castle. It was beautiful, and it had things that she had only ever seen in books. Her room (at least, they told her it was hers) was up two more levels, on the fifth floor. It seemed that all other royalty was there too. Guards stood at the entrance of what looked to be a grand room at the end of the hall, assumedly the king's room.

For a long while, she sat on her bed. It was a large room, almost three times the size as her one back home in Odaiba. She found that in the massive dresser there was a series of dresses, very nice ones that little girls dream of one day owning. She had chosen to but on the white one; it was the simplest of them all. She was still overwhelmed by the whole thing, and wanted to feel more comfortable than anything else.

A soft knock on her door diverted her attention from her thoughts. She rose from her spot, and opened it. On the other side stood a boy, maybe seventeen or eighteen. He stood with impeccable posture, and was dress rather nicely.

"Yes?" she said, not sure why he was here.

"My lord has requested that you join him for dinner in fifteen minutes, as you are now better. He hopes that it may jog your memory." the boy told her.

She looked at him strangely, but decided that it would be best to comply with the requests that were presented before her.

"Tell him that I will be there, but also that I will not remember anything for I have not lost my memory. I know who I am and where I come from, and it isn't here."

It was his turn to give the strange looks, but he quickly straitened his face. He gave a slight bow, turned on his heel, and left.

Hikari gently closed the door, wondering what she was about to go into.

Cody had explored the area further. He found that there was a cellar just around the back of the church. Inside, there were even more spices than inside the small room with the bed. There were other substances which he wasn't too sure of, but he knew they were there for a reason. He had found a few small paths, and one that led to the main road. A few people had come by since his arrival, and they all seemed to know him, or they had at least heard his name. They came to him for various things, rest, food, even counselling. The young boy did his best to comply to their wishes.

During all of this, he had found out the dogs' names. Each had their own mat, and each mat was labelled with a slab of wood. The biggest one was a male called Duke. The middle one was another male, though he was not quite as big. His name was Hunter. The third, a female, went by the name of Lady.

They three were all purebred bloodhounds, very beautiful ones at that. They were older dogs, and Lady was even partially blind. Even through this, they proved to be very good guard dogs. Lady was more of a companion, though. They were all, he found, very protective of him. They seemed to know when a visitor was worth welcoming, and when they had to go. They warned him of much danger.

Cody decided that it would be best to stay put for the time being, as he didn't know where he was and would have no clue where to go. At least here he had food, a place to stay, and even companions. He passed time reading some very old writing of the Bible. It was a church, after all. He even got accustomed to reading the old English, though it was no piece of cake.

As he was doing this, he came across a map. It was poorly done and most likely out of scale, but it was a map none the less. He was in Sherwood forest.

"Sora, honey, are you feeling okay?" A feminine voice called from the other side of the wooden door.

Sora rolled her eyes. "Curse you, Oraclemon. Because of you, these people think they're my parents…" she muttered under her breath.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all."

The door opened slowly, and a small, plump woman entered. She closed the door softly behind her. Pulling up a chair, she sat herself beside Sora's bed. The woman smiled.

"That's good." She placed the back of her hand on the girl's forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever, but you should rest for longer, just in case."

The look on her face softened. "We were so worried. We all thought that you were dead, but when William found you in the forest, we knew you'd be okay. We all thought that you had gone after that forest boy again, but that didn't seem to be the case."

Sora became confused, but said nothing.

"We know you were upset, but, it's for the best. William is a nice boy, but I think you ran because you don't know him all that well. But that will change."

"Wait…uh, I seem to have forgotten about the 'forest boy', and the whole reason why I ran…would you mind jogging my memory?"

Sora was smart, and knew that if she played her cards correctly she could find out what was going on and find a way out of this mess.

The woman sighed. "For many days you would go off with one of the outlaws. We were very afraid that one day, you just wouldn't return. You never told us who you were with or where you were going, and for the first while we thought that you had just been going into town. But when your father saw you with…him…we knew that we had to do something. Your father knows what's best for you, Sora. That's why he arranged for you to marry William. The wedding is in five days."

Sora almost fell off the bed. "This is insane! I cannot and will not marry him! He's the biggest snobby rich man I've ever met! He's fat, and down right ugly!"

"YOU WILL NOT SPEAK THAT WAY ABOUT YOUR FUTURE HUSBAND!" came a booming voice.

The two heads whipped around and Sora saw her 'father' standing in the doorway. He walked over to the bed.

"Listen young lady. I have arranged this for you out of the deepest parts of my heart and out of my utmost love for you. Earl William is a nice man, and he will give you a good life, lots of money and many children. You will _not _speak that way of _anyone _again, or there will be serious consequences. A lady must be seen, and not heard. Ever since you met that-that _thing_, you've become an obstinate little wench." His voice was hard and cold.

Sora's fiery spirit began to bubble to the surface, but the deadly look in the man's eyes told her to be quiet.

"Now, you _will _marry the Earl, and you _will _enjoy it." With this said, he stormed out of the room.

Sora looked over at the woman, who was gazing at the floor.

"Please, postpone this, delay it, do anything! Please?!" Sora pleaded at a whisper, though her voice had none the less desperation in it.

"I'm sorry." the woman replied, her voice barley audible. At saying that, she stood up and left, leaving Sora emotionally spent, and utterly alone.

Yolei had been put to work in the kitchens. This was rather ironic, for she could not even boil water without something going wrong. The head cook soon found this, and reduced her to peeling potatoes. She did this non-stop, and if it wasn't potatoes, it was either carrots or some other vegetable.

"I swear…after this, I'm going to become a meatatarian…if there is such a thing…" she mumbled under her breath while hacking viciously at a rather large potato. When she looked down, she realized that she had unconsciously chopped away half the vegetable. In frustration, she stabbed the knife right through the middle, and gave it repeated wounds. This earned her the stares of all the other servants.

"What, might I ask, are you doing?" the head cook asked.

She looked up. Fortunately for her, he was a kinder man, and more understanding than most.

"Uh…"

"Never mind I asked. Just don't let me catch you wasting good food again." He walked back to his duties.

"Yes sir." she grumbled.

A few minutes later, the head cook came back. "I would like you to take this platter out to the lord and his guests, and the lady, of course."

She nodded mechanically. It wasn't anything she wasn't used to. Back in Odaiba, her family owned a convenience store and she had to continually balance things in her arms to get them all on the shelves. She was a klutz at everything else, but this she knew she could handle.

Placing her knife down and drying it with a cloth, she picked up the silver platter and headed out to the banquet hall.

The boys, and Mimi, had made quite the camp. They had found a way to make shelters, and found them to be very useful, especially in the rain. Davis had stumbled upon a small river, and the boys quickly began to teach themselves how to fish with spears. The first few days they came out with not much more than a small fish, but Yamato, with practice, seemed to be getting the hang of it. His younger brother wasn't too far behind him.

Taichi eventually got sick of the fish, and decided that he would hunt. Again, he didn't come out with much at first, but he soon was able to actually sneak up on an unsuspecting creature without making any noises. This was an incredible feat for the tall, mop-headed soccer player. Silence and sneaking around was never really his thing. He even managed to teach Daisuke how to hunt.

Mimi, on the other hand, would have nothing to do with anything. Ken offered to clean what came in, as his father had taken him camping on a few occasions and taught him the art of wilderness survival.

Eventually, they had coaxed Mimi into at least eating the food.

Presently, the group was just sitting around. They had made a trip to the city, and had almost paid for it. Everyone knew who they were, and that only made things worse. The good thing was that the forest was huge, and they had found that they knew it fairly well. The guards, however, did not. They didn't even dare to venture from the main road. That was outlaw territory, and everyone knew it.

"Ugh, it's so boring here!" Takeru said, with an exasperated sigh.

"Tee, we just got back from almost having our heads cut off, and you're bored?" Yamato said.

"Well, I just can't sit back here and wait! We have to find the others, we don't even have the slightest clue where they are!" he stood up. "And have we done anything about it? NO!"

"Look, bro, we've tried to look, but we can't! Wherever we go, there's people either asking for money or food, which is something that we ourselves don't even have much of, or they want our heads. I agree with you that we need to find them, but their situations can't be any worse than ours now, can it?"

Takeru looked away from his brother, to a nearby tree. The other three just sat and watched.

"Fine. I'm going to go down the little path. I want to know where it goes. I don't care what you say, you can't stop me." With that, the younger blonde left.

Ken quickly went after him, not wanting him to go alone, and wasn't about to trust Daisuke with him. The two were friends, but clashed occasionally.

Yamato didn't even try to stop them; he just went the other way.

Tai leaned back against the log he was in front of. "Well, that was unusual."

Mimi nodded silently.

"Hey TK, wait up!" Ken called out. Takeru didn't stop, but he slowed his pace.

He caught up. "What was with that? I've never seen you like this before."

The blonde sighed, "It's just, I'm so worried. We've been here for nearly a week and we haven't found any trace of the others. They could be in whole different towns!"

Ken studied him a moment. "You're worried about Hikari."

"I'm worried sick about her."

Ken nodded, understandingly. "I know how you feel. There isn't a moment when I'm not thinking about her…Yolei, I mean. She's always had that effect on me, but now that I have no clue how she is, or ever where she is, it's constant. Love does that to you, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess." His eyes were fixed on the small path ahead.

There was a heavy silence between the two boys as they walked. It was only broken when TK noticed a clearing ahead.

"Look! There's something up here!" The two broke into a jog, and went to the edge.

Duke emitted a low growl.

"What's the matter?" asked Cody. Hunter soon joined in. The two massive dogs bounded outside. Cody followed, but only peered through the door. He watched as the dogs bounded into the bushes. Loud baying and barking, followed by the sound of screaming, could be heard from the other side of the tree line.

Soon, two people flew through the bushes, landing on the ground just inside the clearing. The dogs came out, and pinned the two to the ground.

Cody broke into a smile as he found out who it was.

"Duke, Hunter, that's enough!" The dogs looked at him, but backed down. The boy ran over to his friends.

"Ken! TK!"

The two boys, dazed and confused, looked up,

"Cody!" they cried in unison.

After the reunions were complete and all had settled, they looked around.

"So this is where you ended up, eh?" commented Takeru.

He smiled lightly, "I guess so. How did you to get here?"

"We walked. Ken, Matt, Tai, Mimi and I were all dumped in this massive forest."

"I see. That would explain the clothes. Do you have any idea where we are?"

"Actually, we do."

"Yeah. We've figured out that we've been placed into the medieval times, in history. We're living out the fact _and _the fiction. This," Ken pointed behind him, "is Sherwood forest. The town of Sherwood is not too far from here." He poked at TK. "Our friend over here has been given the mantle of the ever-so-famous 'Robin Hood' and we are his band of merry men….and woman…"

"Hmm, that's interesting. So, who would that make me?"

TK thought a moment, then declared loudly, "Friar Tuck!

Hikari slowly made her way down to the banquet hall. She had asked for directions, and a servant was now leading her. He stopped, and opened the door for her. She kindly thanked him, and he went away.

The room before her was like nothing she'd ever seen. It was massive, and a long, but small in comparison to the room, table sat in the middle. She assumed that additions could be made if need be.

A man, maybe in his late twenties, approached her with a bright smile on his face.

"Kari, dear, I'm so glad you could make it! I was so worried about you after the fall…I thought I'd lost you for good…"

She didn't move.

His face fell. "Is your memory still impaired? I've heard that it isn't what it used to be. Oh well, you can't forget for long. Come, now, the food is being brought out now." He took her hand, and led her to the table. Before her, was food that she had only dreamed of seeing. There were meats and breads of all kinds, fruits and vegetables that she had never even heard of. There were all sorts of casseroles, rolls, cakes, pies, and other dishes that she could not name.

"We have the finest cooks in the country here, as I'm sure you'll remember soon. Have a seat." he pulled out a chair for her, and she slowly sat down.

A certain lavender haired servant caught her attention. Her eyes widened as she realized who it was.

Yolei had placed the platter down on the table, and took one glance at the people across from her. She took a second glance, and was about to cry with joy, but noticed the man beside her friend glaring at her. The two shared some unspoken words before Yolei disappeared through the kitchen doors.

Calmer of the Storm: So, there you have it. I have a few ideas for this story, but like I said, I'm winging most of it. You're ideas would _REALLY REALLY REALLY _help. I won't get this finished before the summer, as there virtually isn't a week where I'm around a computer…no word of a lie. If I do get around one, it'll be a spur of the moment thing. I'll try to get one more chapter up, as I'll have lots of time to loaf around my house and do nothing in between exams. Well, I've talked for long enough (or typed….I guess) so I'll see you later!

p.s. reviews are greatly appreciated! ;)


	4. Surprises and revelations

Calmer of the Storm: Hey! Here's the next chapter of this story…I'll be focusing mostly on the Taiora in this chapter, and maybe a little Mimato. Don't worry, the main focus of this story is still a Takari…I just have to build up to it.

Also, I'm not sure, but this could be the last chapter before September…depending on whether or not I have the time. I _will _continue this story…I promise. Well, on with the fic!

Ken had been sent back to camp to get the boys and Mimi. When he returned with them, he found that Cody had brought TK down into the cellar. It was a lot nicer than anyone had expected, and, as Cody has himself figured out, there was a series of hidden rooms and passageways.

"This would be a good place to hide, if we ever needed to." Tai commented after stuffing a large amount of bread into his mouth.

"Well, feel free to say here and come as often as you wish…it's not like I get a lot of company around here…"

The others nodded.

Takeru was the only one who hadn't touched his food. He was hungry, but his mind was elsewhere. He was overjoyed that they had found the small boy (who actually wasn't really so small anymore, but he was still the youngest and shortest out of all of the), but he was desperate to know more about the others, Hikari being the main person on his mind. He knew the others were worried, though they didn't show it as much. They covered it up with masks, as if they were too proud to show it. However, he knew that when the time came, each and every one of them would show tier true colours. Takeru just wasn't very good at hiding his.

"So, Cody, have you seen any other people besides us?"

The boy thought for a moment. "Well, I see a few people. They give me money, and some seek shelter and food. Others need medical attention. Lately though, there have been a few who seemed of a higher class…they seemed to be going somewhere. I think they said something about a wedding, but I'm not sure. Most stopped for only a few hours, but there was a coupe that stayed over night. But, since the day before yesterday I haven't seen anyone else.

They listened intently while eating. Takeru thought of something. "Did they tell you which way they were going?" he asked.

"Yes, they're headed to the house of Sir Robert. It's strait passed this building, and another path branches off to the left. It isn't far from here. I helped carry some stuff to the break in the path, so that's how I know."

Takeru fell silent, thinking.

"Okay squirt, what's on your mind?"

"Weeeeeeelll," he dragged out, "This _is _a wedding…"

"We think" Yamato added.

"Yes, well, and there are rich people there, right?"

The others nodded, not getting it.

"They won't be suspecting anything, and we _are _short on cash…besides, I don't think that they really _need _all that money…"

"Takeru! That's…that's…I can't believe you!" Matt exclaimed.

"Oh, come on 'mato. Let's just check it out! We won't take much, and we don't have to make a big scene about it…"

Yamato looked to Tai, and gave up when he saw the mischievous glint in the leader's eyes. "Geez Tai, you're supposed to be on _my _side."

"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud, Yamato. Like your brother said, we don't have to make a big deal about it. Let's just check this thing out, first. We don't want to get ourselves into something that could get us killed."

"Tai, this _is _going to get us killed."

"I mean something without the possibility and a way of escape. You don't have to come, you know. Just stay here, but I'm going to check it out."

He stood, and walked to the stairs leading out of the cellar.

"Now?" Takeru asked. He wasn't expecting this.

"Yes, now, so let's go!"

The others exchanged glances, and leapt up to follow. Matt went too, though he grumbled about it.

"We'll be back before nightfall!" Tai called over his shoulder to Cody, who nodded.

Hikari had called for Yolei to come up to her room. The other workers thought that the lavender-haired girl was in trouble, as they only got called up to their masters rooms to be scolded.

"You're gonna get it now!" one boy in particular teased. He had been doing so since she got there, and she wanted to beat the boy to a pulp. However, she knew that things wouldn't be too good for her if she did.

This time, instead of chasing after him, she put her priorities strait and went up to Kari's room.

She knocked softly on the door, and was greeted by the brunet girl's smiling face.

Not speaking, Yolei entered and Hikari closed the door.

After, the two erupted into squeals of laughter and joy, hugging each other furiously.

"I thought I was all alone! I was so afraid I wouldn't find any one!" Hikari managed to get out.

"I know! At least _you _have a nice place. I have to clean dishes and cut", she shivered melodramatically, "potatoes." The two girls erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Yeah well, this life isn't what I'd call paradise either. I've got this man hounding me and watching my every move. He tries to get me alone with him, and I'm running out or excuses! I've heard that he wants me to marry him! Apparently, according to them, I hit my head on something, and lost all my memories. But I didn't! I remember everything! Just not the things that I'm apparently supposed to remember." She sighed. "What am I supposed to do if he asks me? I've heard he's got quite the temper and won't take no for an answer."

Yolei smirked. "And you wish he was Takeru."

"Yeah…..NO! I'm only sixteen! Besides…he's my friend."

"So? That didn't change the fact that Ken and I are going out. Girl, you just gotta tell him!"

She shook her head. "I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I know he doesn't see me in that way. Yeah, we flirt, but it's all fun and games, well, at least for him it is. He's already told me that he's got a crush on someone, but he won't tell me who it is."

Yolei was getting visibly frustrated. "That's 'cause it's you! Why would he tell you? He should, but he's just as stubborn as you are!"

"But he deser-"

Yolei cut her off. "I don't want to hear that stuff about 'oh, he deserves sooo much better than me'…cut it! He says exactly the same thing, and I'm sick of hearing it! I swear, if you two are not dating by the time we get out of high school, I'm going to resort to drastic measures." she said, exasperated.

Hikari was silent, she didn't know what to do or say.

Yolei saw this, and softened her voice. "Look, I'm sorry, but it's just so annoying seeing you two mope around about each other, and not know it. Trust me, I've gotten to know the two of you very well over these few years, and I'll admit that I even had the tiniest crush on him too. Of course, then Ken came along, but that's beside the point. You know, even Davis has figured it out, he's just in denial. He doesn't want you two to realize that you really do love each other, because he still thinks he has a chance with you. When I found myself stealing glances at TK, I new it was hopeless. I saw the way he looks at you, the way he just brightens up when you are around. Trust me; I see the same in you. I don't hold the digi-egg of love for nothing, you know."

Hikari, again, was silent.

"I know that's a lot to chew on for the moment, so think about it. Just look back on everything you two have done together. And so what if he doesn't? It's his loss…"

Hikari smiled.

"That's what I thought. Now, I have to go…I promised I'd show up early if he let me peel the carrots." She rolled her eyes.

Kari thought a moment. "Why don't I ask if you can become my personal servant? As a front, I mean. That way, we'll be close and able to talk without anyone getting suspicious. I can make up some lame excuse or something like that…they tend to believe everything I say and they just want to see me happy."

"Yeah! Sounds awesome! Well, before you do that I'd better go." She slipped through the door, "bye!", and she was gone.

Hikari laid herself down on her bed, thinking about her recent conversation with Yolei.

"Here's where the path branches off" Ken stated as they neared a fork in the road.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious", Davis said. Ken smacked him upside the head.

"Hey! That's Yolei's job!"

"Well, since she's not here I'll just have to fill her spot."

"Okay you two, that's enough." Tai droned. Davis had been in countless argument with the other two younger boys the whole walk.

The group of them walked a little further, and they had found that Cody was right. It was only about an hour's walk down the path. They came to a house, a very large one at that. It was beautiful, surrounded with gardens and pathways. There were various decorations all over, indicting a celebration of some kind. There was a stable to the left of the house, and there were some horses grazing out in a paddock to the left of that. People buzzed in and out of the house.

"Wow, there definitely is something going on here, but I wonder what it is?" Ken asked.

"It's so pretty! Whoever decorated sure did a nice job! It's a wedding, I'm sure. Why else would this place look so nice? I don't think it's today though, they aren't ready enough yet."

The boys looked at her. It was the longest sentence she had said since they arrived.

"Why do you say that?" asked Matt.

She smiled at him, "Oh, you'd be surprised."

They decided to leave it at that.

"Why don't we split up in groups of two?" Tai suggested.

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Okay then, meet here when the sun is just over the house. Davis, come with me."

The younger boy followed Tai obediently. Takeru went with Ken, and Matt took Mimi with him. Takeru snickered as his brother chose his partner. Mimi only smiled, and Takeru had a feeling that this was a slight indication that she knew what his older brother felt, but she still did nothing to further it. She went with him quietly.

"Well they certainly don't look too worried that anything's going to go wrong." Davis commented.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. This job should be quick and easy."

The younger nodded.

As they were circling around the back towards the horse paddock, a certain girl caught his eye.

"Davis, let's go this way."

Asking no questions, Daisuke followed.

They were just along side the girl now. She was standing on one side of the fence, watching the horses. One had recently come up to her and she was currently stroking its nose. She wore a navy blue dress, the colour of night. It had a square neck, and it capped her shoulders. The frills on the sleeves and on the bottom were a contrasting white, making her stand out a little. The dress clung to her body, accenting her curves.

As Tai was gawking, he drew closer. Then something dawned on him, and he almost fell over backwards. The girl had fiery red, shoulder length hair.

He snapped himself out of his trance. He had always thought the auburn-haired girl beautiful, but this was the first time he'd seen her in a dress. Well, there was the prom, but even that dress didn't match this one. She hated wearing dresses, and got out of her one at the prom as quickly as she could. She and Tai had gone as friends, but secretly, he wanted more. There were few who knew about it, as he kept quiet about it.

He suddenly found himself thinking back to when she and Matt had started dating. He had finally gathered the courage to ask her out, only to be crushed when he found that it was his best friend that she wanted. She hadn't got the clue that it really did matter to him if she was going to the concert with anyone, and as long as she was happy, he was fine with that. He had watched from afar as their relationship progressed. He had become secluded, and distant. Hikari had been the first to pick up on it. Matt was next. Matt had felt ashamed, for Tai had often told him of his longing for Sora, but the blonde never said how much he liked her too. In the end, he was surprised that Tai still looked at him as a friend.

But, to Tai's delight, things just hadn't worked out. Matt began to see her more as a sister than anything else. She still didn't know of his feelings, and he was waiting for the 'opportune moment'. He hadn't found it.

He was once again pulled out by the sound of footsteps. In his thoughts, he had not noticed that she had moved from her spot. Now, she was heading towards them, though unawares that there was anyone there.

Tai acted quickly.

"Davis, go back and tell the others I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay, hurry though."

Tai nodded and the maroon-headed boy slunk back into the trees.

"Sora!" he whispered.

She halted. No one had called her that since she got there.

"Sora!" he called again. This time she turned to look in his direction.

"In the trees, it's me, Tai!"

A wave of visible relief swept over her. She looked around, then dashed for the tree line.

"Tai!" she said as she flew into his arms. He hadn't been expecting that.

She raised her head and he found that there were tears in her eyes.

"What's the matter?" he asked softly.

She buried her face into his chest, and began to sob.

"I'm so confused! I thought I was all alone. I thought that I would have to go through with this by myself! I thought I'd never see you again…I was so scared!"

He though over her words. Was 'you' plural? Or was it just for him?

"Sora, shh, it's alright. I'm here now. Matt, Davis, Ken, Mimi and TK are just around the bend at the front of the house. We found Cody too. Now we can bring you!"

She sniffled, and shook her head. "No, it's not that simple…Tai, I'm getting married tomorrow.

Her response, to say the leased, shocked him. It rendered him speechless.

"Sora, I don't…I don't know what to say…"

"Please, just get me out! I don't want to do this. I…I want to be with you!"

Once again, Tai wasn't sure of the context of her words.

"Alright, we'll get you out."

He thought a moment.

"Tomorrow, get ready, as planned, for your wedding. Don't put up a fuss; just do as you're told. We were planning on doing a little raid here anyways, so the bride shouldn't be too much to ask for."

She smiled at his comment.

"We'll give you a sign…a bird call. You know the one that Matt does just to get on everyone's nerves? Yeah, we'll use that. Listen for it and get in a spot, close to a window or something, where we can get to you. You could also try and make our escape rout easy…I don't know, do whatever you can. Sound good?"

She nodded, and hugged him tight. "Thank you." she said.

She heard voices. "They're looking for me…"

Tai looked out. "Who's that big one?" he asked.

"The one I'm supposed to marry."

Tai almost blew their cover. "_That _thing? Sora, I am so sorry about this!"

She laughed too. "I'd better go, but I'll see you tomorrow night."

He nodded as she left.

"Sora, wait."

She stopped and turned.

He took a step, and lifted his hand.

To say she was shocked, would not do it justice. There was no word to describe the feeling she felt when she felt his lips cover hers. He held her there a moment, then turned and left. He didn't even look at her.

His heart was pounding in his chest, and he swore it gave him away. He wasn't sure what he had done, but he would have to pay the consequences later. He had just kissed his best friend, the love of his life, and he didn't wait around for her reaction. He was afraid of it.

__

'Tomorrow', he thought.

Back at the forest's edge, Sora stood. Her hand made its way to her lips.

"Oh Tai…" she murmured.


	5. A daring Rescue

Calmer of the Storm: I have time! Although I have to say that this will be the last chapter until September (unless by some chance I have a little time over the summer), and for that, I am very sorry. I'll barley have TV! Not that that really matters to me…anyways…suggestions are great, they help me lots, so if you have any, tell me! I'll probably use it…..'till then, on with the fic!

……………….

"Gee Tai, you seem happy today." Matt commented while looking at his friend, the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

When Tai didn't respond with some smart remark, the blonde immediately knew something was up. He sat down beside him.

"What's eating at you? I can't say that I've ever seen you like this before. Not since Sora and I…" he trailed off as it dawned on him.

"It has something to do with her, doesn't it." he stated as a matter-of-factly.

A sigh escaped Tai's mouth.

"Tai if you're worried about the wedding thing, it's all going to work out."

He shook his head, "No no, it's not just that. It's…I just…I…"

Yamato rolled his eyes. "Spit it out."

"Thanks for the support." Taichi grumbled back.

"You're welcome" Matt responded.

Tai glared.

"Seriously, what's bothering you?"

"Well, she…she just kept telling me how she wanted to be with me…well, the exact word was 'you', but I don't know if that's plural, or singular? I know it sounds stupid, but after you've gone through what I have, even the smallest things can send you over the edge."

"And…" Matt pressed, he knew there was more.

Tai was silent a moment. "I kissed her."

Yamato was taken aback, to say the least. "You did?! What did she say?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, and frankly, I'm not sure if I want to know. It was a spur of the moment thing…It just sort of happened. I don't know if I can face her tonight after what I did."

"Did she kiss you back?"

"There wasn't time. I sort of sprung it on her, then left. I could tell she was stunned. I just…I don't want to lose a friendship over something stupid like that…she means so much to me."

Matt sighed, "I know she does, Tai. But I'm sure that even if she doesn't feel the same way, which I'm sure she does, she wouldn't let something like that get between you guys. What you have is something special, and to tell you the truth, even when we were dating I was jealous of it. I was also worried that I would destroy it…you guys are my best friends, and I don't want anything to change."

The two boys fell silent, and waited.

………………..

Sora stood nervously at the front of the chapel. She was afraid that her friends wouldn't make it on time, or that something would go wrong. She was afraid that she would be stuck here for her life, married to a man who disgusted her in every way. She also wanted to see Tai, and asked him what he had meant by his actions the night before. She as almost afraid of his answer, though she wasn't sure why.

She became more nervous and jumpy as the evening grew old, and the ceremony was coming to an end. She had made her point that she wanted to be by an open window, as she hated being locked up. They bought it and agreed to this. She had done her part, and all she had to do was wait until the others came to do theirs.

Suddenly, something caught her ear. She heard a familiar noise, and almost had to hold in her laughter and joy as she heard it. It brought back memories of old times when they were younger, and also she was relieved that they had come for her. She inched closer to the window, and waited.

Shadows running through the yard caught her eye, but there were many more than he had expected. They had brought help.

An arrow whizzed through the air, and pegged the ground up at the altar. The crowd gave a collective gasp. A line of men rushed in the back door, men whom she had never seen before.

A hand came from behind and grabbed her, catching her by surprise. She tried to scream out of reflex, but it was muffled by someone's hand. She turned to see that it was TK who had grabbed her, and felt herself feeling disappointed that it hadn't been Tai. He led her out the window, and into the woods.

Inside, there was an all out brawl. She caught a glimpse of Matt using a sword, something she never knew he could do. She then saw Tai right behind him, doing the same.

Takeru led her deeper and deeper into the woods, not slowing his pace.

"TK!" she said.

"Shh! There's no time to talk now, just keep going and don't look back."

"But what about the others?"

"They'll be fine, don't worry about it."

They continued to run, until she noticed that they had come about a clearing. Without explaining, he opened a large cellar door and motioned for her to follow him down. He lit a small lamp at the back, and sat down.

Sora planted herself beside him.

"So, now will you explain?" she asked.

He nodded. "This is the church where Cody's staying. Of course, he went with the others. Even Mimi was in on it. She was in the audience as a spy, if you didn't see."

She shook her head.

Takeru smiled, "That was the point. She was there the whole time, and she said she was quite disgusted by all the men…apparently they were eyeing her in ways that made her want to sick Palmon on them."

Sora smiled, and continued to listen.

"We waited outside a while, I was appointed to grab you, because I was the fastest I guess. We recruited some men from the village whom we've helped out and they owed us favours, that and we promised them money if they came with us. Some of them are very skilled bow and swordsmen."

She recalled something, "How does your brother know how to fence?"

"He doesn't. Then again, it seems that we've all acquired talents that we never knew we had since coming here. I guess it's all part of the package."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, we've come to figure out that we've been placed into the past, somewhere in medieval times, in both fact and fiction. I guess that's all part of Oraclemon's trick. We've found that this is Sherwood Forest, and I guess it doesn't take a genius to figure out who we are."

It was becoming clear to her, "So we've been placed in some soft of story, and we have to figure it out!"

"Exactly. Do you remember what Oraclemon said? We've got to make things right…which means that something is wrong. However, we haven't been able to figure that out yet."

"I see…have you found Kari or Yolei yet?"

He shook his head sadly, "No. Though, I'm going to go check out the castle tomorrow. I haven't told anyone this, so don't say anything. I want to go by myself. It's the only place we haven't looked, and we could be running out of time. Having someone come with me could jeopardize my mission."

"I promise not to tell anyone if you promise to lay low."

"I promise."

The two of them chatted a while, until they heard footsteps outside. What sounded to be a heard of elephants came storming down the stairs, followed by the crashing of the cellar doors.

Sora looked up to see that it was Davis, Ken, Matt, Tai, and Mimi. When they reached them, TK put out the lamp.

"Cody's upstairs as planned…now we just have to keep quiet." Tai whispered.

More footsteps were heard, followed by voiced. Sora could make out those of Cody, her 'father' and her 'fiancé', and some other voices she did not know.

Finally after what seemed to be hours, they let. A few minutes of silence followed, then the hatch opened once more. Takeru put the light back on and they all relaxed.

"Well, I've sent them on a wild goose chase, and our help has all gotten home safe and sound. Now, let's dress these wounds."

Cody pulled out some cloth and what looked to be water, though it smelled like alcohol. She watched as the boy peeled back the sleeve of Tai's shirt, and covered her mouth at the sight of the blood.

"Tai!" she exclaimed.

"It's not that bad, just a little stab wound. Daisuke's got it worse." he pointed to the younger boy, and she saw the bloodstained bandages he already wore.

Daisuke had fought the hardest out of all of them, never giving up even after being stabbed and slashed a few times. Yamato had a deep gash in his leg, and even Mimi got away with a few scratches. Ken sprained an ankle, and was knocked on the head. Other than these few injuries, they were alright. Takeru was the only one to get away unharmed.

After dressing the wounds, Cody went back up to put the dirty bandages away.

"I'm just going to go outside for a little while." Tai told them, and left.

Sora watched him go, then Matt caught her eye. His look told her to go follow him, but she wasn't so sure. Eventually, she did.

………………

Tai sat on the same log that he had earlier that morning during his conversation with Yamato. He was deep in though and didn't even realize Sora had followed him until she had sat down beside him.

"Hello", he said softly.

"Hey", she replied back.

There was an awkward silence between them, until Sora had had enough.

"Look, Tai, I want to ask you strait out what that was all about last night. I want your honest answer, and I swear I won't change how I feel about you after what you've said."

He sighed, "That's just the problem."

She became confused. "What is?"

"How _do _you feel about me?"

She blinked, and blushed though it was dark and he couldn't see. "That's not fair, I asked you first."

He nodded slowly, and gave in. "I…I did it because it's something that I've wanted to do for a long time. I did it because I couldn't hold myself back any longer and I would rather face the consequences than never get the chance to do something like that. I did it because…." he trailed off, and continued at a whisper, "because I love you."

Sora let all of that sink in, then turned to him.

"Would you like to do it again?"

"What?"

"I said would you like to do it again, but if you don't want to, I mean, that's fine with me, well, it's not really fine, but it just-"

She was cut off and caught off-guard again by the sensation of his lips on hers. This time, he didn't back away. She deepened the kiss, and the two stayed like that a long while, before the need to breathe overcame them both.

They were both glowing red, and could hear nothing save for the pulse pounding in their ears.

"Well, I think we should uh, go get some sleep…it's been a long day." Tai said between breaths.

She nodded, still blushing furiously. They stood up, and she slipped her hand into his. They walked back to the cellar, and drifted off into a deep, much needed sleep.

………………..

Takeru couldn't get much sleep that night. His mind was on how he would get into the city and castle unnoticed, and on what he would find. He prayed to God, literally, that he would find her. He was afraid that she wouldn't be there, or that something bad had happened to her.

He loved her more than anything, and had just admitted that to himself. He knew he was young, and maybe even still considered a child by some, but he knew without a doubt that he loved her. He'd seen his parents' marriage crumble, and at first he was worried that the same fate would befall him. He didn't want to put the woman that he was to marry, whoever she may be, through that pain. But now, he knew that he could never do that to someone like Hikari.

………………..

Morning came by quickly, and Takeru stole away in the hours just before dawn. He did not want to be seen by anyone, friend or foe. It would just make things harder for him.

He travelled through the forest, and finally came upon the village. He was surprised to see that there was a significant amount of people out. It was all the merchants and vendors getting their stands and shops ready for the day. This seemed to be their regular routine.

No one seemed to recognise him, but maybe that was because he was wearing a hood over his head. This didn't seem to bother them, they did nothing more than cast him a glance before carrying on with whatever they were doing. Obviously this type of this was considered normal around here.

He saw the castle looming in the distance. The walls were massive, and he had to find a way to scale them without getting caught. He found a spot where the forest met with the castle walls, providing him with a way to get in and out with ease. Takeru crawled up the tree, and was delighted to see that creeping vines had taken to growing all p the wall. He noticed that there were some up the castle itself as well.

Quietly lowering himself down, he snuck around to the back. Out here there were various balconies overlooking a vast and very beautiful garden. He decided to hang about the cherry trees for the time being. He climbed one, and sat in amongst its blossoms, which were in full bloom. He smiled as he remembered all the study dates he and Hikari had spent doing just this. However, she was the only one that ever got any studying done.

"Tell him I don't want any, as I'm not hungry. Tell him I don't care, but I'm tired. He made me stay up late last night, and he's just going to have to suffer the consequences. I'm locking the door, so there's no way he can get in."

He perked up at the sound of the voice…it was unmistakable. He couldn't exactly make out the words, but he could just make out her voice. He peered through the branches, and he saw _her_. His heart leapt to his throat and he almost screamed with joy as he saw her, but suppressed his desire to do so. He had _found _her!

Quickly, he looked for a rock or something else to throw. He found one small enough, and launched it up to her window. It was still early, and the sun was just beginning to rise, so it was dark.

The rock bounced off the balcony, catching the girl's attention. She looked over the balcony, but her back was to him. He threw another.

This time, she turned to face him, though he was still hidden in the trees. She was fairly high up, and didn't risk shouting at her.

Though, he threw another, and leapt out of the trees just as he did so. She saw him, he was sure of it.

She looked at him a moment, it didn't seem to register to her who he was. Her heart began to race; she knew who she _wanted _it to be, she knew who it _looked _like, but she also knew that it couldn't be him…Could it?

He rolled his eyes, and waved. He had little time, and he realized that she wasn't getting it.

Finally, it dawned on her. She began to wave frantically, and motioned for him to come up. He wasn't sure how, but realized that the stones seemed to stick out ever so slightly, and the vines climbed up the wall a ways too.

So, he began to climb. He had not trouble at the bottom, but by the third level, he was running out of places to grab.

"Hold on", she told him, and disappeared. He began to worry. The guards would be out soon, and he would most likely be shot down. He was relieved a little when Hikari emerged with a rope.

"Don't ask…" she said as she lowered it to him, "You have no idea how many times I've wanted to get out of here."

He smiled, and used the roped as a guide. Finally, he pulled himself up only to balcony railing. However, he lost his footing and toppled forwards, landing on top of Kari. She didn't seem to mind; she was too busy hugging him and wouldn't let him go even if he wanted her to. To say the least, he was content just to be there.

"I thought I was the only one here…I thought it was finally all over, that we digidestind had finally been defeated", she managed to choke out.

"Shhhh…It's alright. Everything's okay now. We've got everyone except Yolei at camp in the forest. We just have to find her."

She shook her head, "No, she's here with me in the castle. Though, she's my personal servant."

"Oh, good. At least you're together. And we don't have to worry about you either…we'll just kidnap you just like we did Sora…on her wedding day, too." he smiled as he said this.

"Oh Takeru, you have no idea how horrible it is here! This stupid ugly man is crawling all over me…they think he wants to marry me! And he's not the kind of guy that will take 'no' for an answer…I'm so scared…he orders me around, and he touches me and he…I'm so afraid!"

Takeru couldn't do much but hold her. It seems that she might have it worse than anyone. "What's the guy's name?" he asked.

She sniffled, "That's just it. Guy…of Gisbourne or something rather. I could care less where he's from… I hate him! And I don't hate a lot of people…"

TK's face drained at the name.

"What's the matter? Do you know something?"

He sighed, and nodded. "Let's go sit down."

She took his hand, and led him over to the bed. Sitting down on its edge, she rested her head against his shoulder. Naturally, his arm found its way around her.

"We've been placed in some sort of story…kind of like a role playing game except this time, it's for real. We've been placed in the shoes of characters from the past, myth, legend and reality. We've been able to place some of us, and others I think are just there. We've come to figure out that I've been placed as Robin Hood. Cody is Friar Tuck, and the others are the merry men…and women…Sora and Mimi are there now too. You, I'm assuming, have been given the role of…maid Marion. And Yolei, well, who knows. This man that is after is after me as well, though he wants a noose around my neck and he wants to watch me hang from the gallows…"

Kari looked at him, wide-eyed. "You have to get out of here!" she exclaimed. "He'll be up here soon, looking for me. I'm afraid that he's going to ask me soon…TK you have to hurry! You've just got to get me, and Yolei, out of here!"

"I will, but I just have to tell the others first. We'll think of something, I promise."

A knock was heard on the door. Hikari shoved Takeru into the bathroom, and shut the door.

She pretended to be groggy, and opened the door. Sure enough, on the other side was the red-headed Sir Guy of Gisbourne.

"I was just about to have my bath, I'll be down in an hour." she told him, then shut the door. He stopped it with his hand, and forced his way in.

"I'll wait here, then."

"Excuse me? I'm sorry, Sir, but not even _you _have the right to be in here."

"Oh?"

"Yes."

"But you are about to become my wife, why can't I?"

She was shocked. "I have heard nothing of this, and the last time I checked, you needed _two _people for marriage. I have no plans for that whatsoever."

He approached her, and grabbed her face in his hand.

"I assure you, girl, that you _will _marry me, or it will be _your _neck that I hang. I've been itching to hang someone for a while now, and this will give me an excuse to. Besides, it will also force your precious Robin out of hiding. Don't think I don't know about that, but I assure you, he's as good as dead, and if you refuse me, so are you."

He forced his lips upon hers, and gave her no time to react. He held her there against her will for a while, then stormed out of her room, slamming the door behind him. Hikari fell to her knees, and Takeru came rushing out of the washroom.

"Hikari!" he exclaimed.

"What am I going to do? He's going to kill me…and you…and…" she broke down.

"There there, it's alright. We'll get you out of this. I promised that we wouldn't leave you, and we won't. Even if I have to come on my own, I will. I swear it. I promised you once that I would never leave you, and I still hold myself to that."

She collapsed onto him. "Thank you…thank you so much.

Takeru stoked her hair, wanting to do more. His heart went out to the broken girl, and wanted to make everything okay. He wanted to hold her, to heal her. He wanted to kiss all her tears away. So that's just what he did.

Gently, barely touching her cheek, he kissed her. Her tears stopped flowing, but he didn't stop. He looked into her eyes and saw something that he had never seen before. He saw the broken, innocent child that she really was. He saw the longing in her eyes, though for what, he wasn't sure. All he was sure of was that she wasn't pulling away or resisting him, in fact, it was just the opposite.

Soon, his lips found their way down to hers. Softly as not to scare her, he claimed them as his own. He noticed that her arms had found their way around his neck, and she was playing with his hair, twisting it around her fingers. The kiss deepened ever so slightly, so little that it was barely enough to notice, but all the passion and longing had finally come out. They came in soft, butterfly like touches, each one never lasting any longer than a few seconds. They melted into each other, seemingly never to part.

Reluctantly, he pulled away from her.

"I have to go before the guard watch gets too heavy…" he whispered softly into her ear.

She held on tighter, like a small, frightened child.

"Please…don't leave me…" she pleaded.

"I have to, but not for long. I'll come back, I promise you that."

Unwillingly, she untangled herself from him. He stood up, and she soon followed suit. He headed to the balcony, and looking back once more, his gaze softened. "I'll be back soon…wait for me…" his words carried more meaning than one, and to this she caught on to.

With one last longing look, he disappeared over the balcony.

……………………..

Calmer of the Storm: Well, there you have it! You guys wanted romance, I gave it to you! Lol……I hope you ALL have a super fantastic summer, and I'll see you guys when I get back! Again, if you have any suggestions, feel free to tell me!

p.s. Reviews are always nice…..


	6. Discussions and plans

Calmer of the Storm: Hello!!!!

Cody:….

Calmer of the Storm: …hehe….hides from angry readers I'm soooorry! I just got…side tracked! Not to mention writer's block…and procrastination…I'm not dead! I'm still here!

Cody: ahem It seems they have forgotten you…

Calmer of the Storm: NOOOOO! cries hysterically

Cody: sweat drop Uh…let's just get on with this thing…

It was around mid-morning when Takeru made it back to the old monastery, for he was moving at a very slow pace. His mind was spinning…he could not believe what he had just done. He was still in a bit of a daze when he finally reached camp. Everyone else was awake.

"Takeru Takaishi! Where the heck have you been!" His older brother Yamato demanded, standing up.

Takeru looked up, his eyes not holding much emotion. "I was…out…"

Yamato rolled his eyes, "We kind of figured _that_. Now, do you mind telling us exactly _where_ you were?"

Takeru shrugged, "I went for a walk…"

Yamato looked as if he were about to strangle the younger boy. The others only watched, amused.

TK sighed, "I went for a walk, down to the castle…"

This got everyone's attention. All but Sora's eyes were upon the boy.

"You _what_?!" Yamato yelled.

"I went down to the castle. I wanted to see if anyone was there."

"You could have been _killed_! That price on your head is way too big, Takeru, for you to be marching around in enemy territory, so to speak. What if they had seen you? Then were would we be? They would have hung you, and then we would all have been screwed, and had to stay here for the rest of our lives! And it would all be because of one of your harebrained ideas! Next time, do all of us a favour, and _think_ before you do something!"

Takeru glared daggers at his older brother, but kept his cool. He realized that all these things could have happened, and he knew the stress his brother was under, for they all were under that kind of stress.

"For your information, Yamato, none of those things happened. No one even knew I was there." His tone was low, showing that he was annoyed. "And, I found out where Hikari _and _Yolie are."

The others, namely, Taichi and Ken, paid even closer attention to his words.

"Hikari seems to have taken the mantle of 'maid Marion'. Yolie is her personal servant. However, Mr. Gisbourne seems to have taken a particular liking to Kari, and his either going to kill her, or marry her." He stayed rather calm as he said this.

Taichi nearly chocked on what he was eating. "What?!"

Takeru's gaze flickered a moment, "You heard me."

With that, he left, leaving the other digidestind rather confused about the whole conversation. Sora quietly stood up, leaving Tai's side. She followed TK, leaving the others even more confused.

Takeru ran a hand through his hair as he headed out back. He passed the three hounds, who did nothing more than bat an eye at him. He found himself on the other side of the building, looking out into the forest. He gave a big sigh. The boy herd footsteps behind him, but didn't acknowledge them.

"What happened, TK?" A soft, feminine voice asked.

He shook his head, "A lot, and nothing."

Sora stepped forwards so that she was beside him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The blonde was silent. He seemed to be thinking, for his jaw was tense, and his gaze fixed upon the ground that lay a few feet in front of him. His shoulders raised as he took a deep breath. He did not move, but responded.

"I suppose I should say something about it…And I think that you'd be the only person I'd trust. At least, at this moment in time." His voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

Her face flushed; she was truly flattered by his words. She didn't say anything in response, but waited for him to continue.

Taking in another breath of air, he did.

"I…I don't even know where to begin. It all just…happened so fast. I mean, I knew I cared for her. She's my best friend, how could I not?" He paused a moment.

Sora finally gained some understanding as to what this was all about. However, again, she said nothing and allowed him to continue. Sometimes, the best thing is just a listening ear.

"When this whole thing started, I mean, when she, and the rest of you guys were missing, I didn't know what to do. I felt so…helpless. I promised her I'd always be there for her, but this time, I couldn't. I felt like I was letting her down. I know it wasn't my fault, but I can't help but feel this way."

"Is that what's been bothering you?" she asked as he finished.

He gave yet another sigh. "That's just part of it. Actually, it's really only the beginning."

"You don't have to say anything more if you don't want to…" she told him.

He shook his head. "No, I want to. I need to talk about it. Anyways, well, as you know, I snuck out to go find her. I actually managed to get in, and without being spotted. She had stepped out onto the balcony while I was in the bushes. I found a few small stones, and I caught her attention. After I climbed up is the part that really gets to me." He turned to look at Sora.

"As I climbed up, she hugged me, quite fiercely. This was after I pulled myself up. I lost my footing, and toppled over, right on top of her." He swallowed and his face flushed. "I have to say though, I didn't mind in the least. Then, she began sobbing into me, and I really didn't know what to do." He turned away to look at a tree. "She was so…helpless, so vulnerable. I really didn't know how to react to her. I did the best I could, but I don't know what that did. She told me Yolei was there with her, which made me a little happier. Then, she starts about how horrible the place was, then she starts going on about some guy who's all over her, and I felt something well up inside me…though I don't know what it was. It's not the first time, though."

A knowing smile crossed the young woman's face. He didn't notice, so she didn't comment.

"Then she mentions is Sir Guy, or whatever, and yadda yadda yadda. I mean, not to say that I wasn't listening, but she rambled on a little. When she was done, I began to explain to her what was going on, and how we got here. While I was doing so, someone knocked on her door. She shoved me into the bathroom, and answered it." He paused, and took another breath. "It was _him_. I didn't know what to do, so I literally held my breath for most of the time that they were talking. My heart was beating so loud I could have sworn he heard it. The conversation made my blood boil, but again, I was helpless. I couldn't help her, because I know he'd just kill me. He threatened her a few times…and then he…he kissed her. I could tell because I heard her protests, and then there was silence. You have no idea how angry I was. When I heard the door slam shut, I burst out, and found her sitting against the wall. She had sunk to her knees."

Sora continued to listen. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she didn't say anything.

"Then I…I held her. She was so broken, so fragile…I didn't know what to do. She just cried, and it hurt to see her cry. I…I wanted to make it all better, I wanted to stop her from hurting, but I didn't know how. She was crying so much, so I…I just…"

Sora noticed that he was turning a nice hue of red, though through the dim light it was not easy to tell. "You…what?" she prodded.

"I…I kissed her."

Her eyes widened. She hadn't been expecting this reply, though, she had to admit, it was inevitable at some point in time. "Then what happened?" she asked him.

"Well, she kissed me back…We didn't really say anything to each other, she just told me that she didn't want me to leave. I didn't know what to do, I knew that I couldn't stay; I'd be killed. I promised that I'd be back for her, and then I left…"

Sora processed everything that he had said. She then looked up at him. "So what exactly is it that you are confused about?"

He sighed. "I'm just…It all happened so fast, and it felt so…so…"

"Right?"

"Yeah…" he paused, his voice still quiet. "But I don't know…I just, it's all so messed up. I mean, before, she was my best friend. I'll admit, I had this crush on her, but I don't know what I feel anymore. I'm…I'm afraid, Sora. I just don't know what to do. I don't want to lose what I have with her, she means the world to me. And I think I might have messed it all up. And what if she expects something of me that I can't give her? What if we were both caught up in the moment, and it means nothing? Then what would I do?"

Sora looked at him. "Well, if it meant nothing, then you've got nothing to worry about. If the both of you just discard it as nothing, then you're fine. But, if she sees it as something more, then you might have to worry. You've got to ask yourself what you're willing to do. Do you want to go to the next step, or do you want to keep everything as is?"

"That's what I'm not sure about. I mean, I was happy with the way it was before. But, after all this, I feel so different. I can't get her off my mind; I'm constantly thinking about her, worried about her, wondering about her…I don't even know what this is! I'm just a teenager. I'm not supposed to feel like this, am I? I don't even know anymore. Is this normal? What's happening?"

His questions were so frantic and they came so fast that Sora wasn't quite sure how to begin.

"First of all", she said, "you've got to calm down. Just take a deep breath, and collect yourself. Secondly, this is normal. Maybe not common among teenagers, well, maybe it is, but it's normal. Everyone goes through it at one point in their life. Whether or not something comes from this, is the question."

He looked up at her, his blue eyes full of evident confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you, and Kari I suppose, need to make a decision. Are you going to let this behind you, or are you going to use it to build something else with it?"

He looked away. "I don't know…"

"Well, I think that you should just get some rest, first of all. Then, we'll think of some way to get both Hikari and Yolei back. After, you can figure out how you feel about Hikari then."

"How I feel…I suppose you're right. Thank you Sora."

She smiled sheepishly. "I hope I wasn't just rambling about nothing…"

He shook his head. "No, if anyone was rambling, it was me. Thank you for listening. You really know how to deal with this kind of stuff." He reached over, and gave her a friendly hug. As he disappeared through the trees, Sora smiled.

"Well, I am the digidestind of love…" she said softly, before following him.

…………………

When Sora returned to the cellar, the others were eating. She took her place beside Tai, who handed her some food.

"Looks like we're going to have to go fishing again." Commented Daisuke.

"No, it just means that you are going to have to learn to ration food, and not eat everything in sight." It was Ken who had replied.

A glare was fired from across the circle. "Don't blame me, I'm a growing boy!"

"Well then, Davis, did I just hear you volunteer to go fishing?" Taichi asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes…NO!" He crossed his arms. "Besides, _Yamato _is our star fisherman, why can't he do it?"

"Because I'm not whining for more food."

Takeru looked up. "May as well just give in now, Davis. You aren't going to win."

"Oh yeah, TQ?"

A smile crossed the younger blonde's lips. "Yeah."

"Well…nyah!" Daisuke stuck out his tongue. The others laughed.

Cody, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke. "There is some extra food upstairs." Everyone looked at him. Daisuke stood up.

"What? And you didn't tell us?"

The younger boy shrugged. "You never asked."

"Well don't just keep us in the dark…where is it?"

Cody shook his head. "Sorry, can't tell you. It would risk us loosing all our food."

"What?! My life has officially ended…" Daisuke wailed.

"I've shown Mimi where it is, so when I'm not here, she'll help you out."

"Why Mimi?" Davis asked.

"Because I'm responsible, and I can cook."

Davis looked thoughtful. "Oh."

The group fell into a lapse of silence. The whole idea of being lost in a forest was getting to them. They were all just avoiding the fact that they had to, once again, step out into the unknown with nothing but a few sticks to help them out.

Taichi leaned back. "Well, I suppose we should work of plans for getting Hikari and Yolei back."

The others readily agreed.

Discussion resulted, and a plan was decided on. They would have to wait a few hours, for cover of darkness. They were almost out of time…Two days left.

…………

Calmer of the Storm: sits behind toy bucket lid to avoid flying objects I'm sorry this chapter was boring! But it had to be done! I promise the next one will be out faster!

Cody:…..

Calmer of the Storm: peers out over the lid Reviews are always a morale booster! And they make me feel happy!

Cody: sweat drop


	7. The next step

Calmer of the Storm: -looks around-

Cody: -roles eyes-

Calmer of the Storm: Uh….here's my next chappy! I'm sooooooooo sorry for taking so long again! I really am! We just started exams, and I've been so busy lately…

Cody: No you haven't, you've just been procrastinating.

Calmer of the Storm: -glomps Cody- Uh…on with the show! I mean…chapter…yeah, that's it…

Takeru shifted in the bushes. They were outside the castle; it was almost time. Hikari, of course, had no idea what was going on, but they were running out of time. The girl was locked in her room, and the light was on. So far, it seemed that she was alone. The guard watch was just as good as it had been the day before when the younger boy had given her a visit; basically nonexistent. However, this time, he would have to appear in her room; no rocks. He prayed that he would come in at the right time…he was aware of the number of things that could go wrong.

Yamato sat just to the right of his brother, and he was just as restless. Yamato, as well of the others, were well aware of what would happen were this plan to fail. The others were stationed around the perimeter of the castle grounds, mostly for surveillance purposes.

Time ticked slowly by, and it seemed an eternity before it was finally dark enough for the boy to make his move.

Deciding that they had waited long enough, and that the coast was clear, Yamato sent his brother off. The boys shared a curt goodbye, and Takeru headed into the open.

The older Ishida was quite surprised with his brother's actions; he had never seen him determined to do something in such a manner before. Takeru moved across the courtyard quite easily, and began clambering up the wall. Yamato whispered a quiet prayer as he watched his brother go. A number of things could go wrong at this point, but it was futile to dwell on the negatives. What would happen would happen, and there was nothing no one could do about it.

Hikari sat on the edge of her bed. Yolei was to meet her soon; what was causing the delay? She hoped with everything she had that nothing had gone wrong. Had they been found out? She knew that it would cost the Inoue girl her life.

Movement at the window caught her attention. As she looked, she noticed a blonde head of hair peering over the side. Overcome with joy, she burst through the balcony doors and flung herself at the boy. First, though, she helped him over it.

A wave of relief flooded over Matt as he watched the events unfold. Now the two just needed to talk.

"Takeru! You have no idea how happy I am!" she felt a little sheepish; it was not the first among things to say to the boy, but that's what came out.

He gave a small smile. "I can imagine…" he said. He looked at her, his azure eyes locking with her ruby ones. For a moment, he forgot the whole reason as to why he was here. As his mind wandered, it eventually made its way back to where he needed it. Shaking his head, be broke from the trance that had been placed over the two of them.

"Sorry, Hika, but I can't stay long. The others are all outside waiting. I've only come to give you a message." He felt a pang of remorse as disappointment set in the girl's eyes.

"Oh…" she said, dropping her gaze to the floor.

"But I also came to see you." he added, quickly, hoping that he had made amends.

She lifted her eyes to meet his. "Really? Or are you just saying that to make me happy?" her voice was soft; almost inaudible.

Takeru took a step towards her. He smiled softly. "There are other ways of conveying a message than to give it in person, but I insisted that this was the best way."

A light smile found its way across her lips. "Alright, then."

Silence enveloped the two of them for a short moment, and Takeru shook his head to get back into focus.

Hikari stifled a giggle; it would seem that he had momentarily forgotten the reasoning for his coming.

"Uh, oh yeah, the message…" The boy's face flushed red. "The rest of the group is stationed outside around the perimeter of the castle grounds." He stopped short, as there was a knock at the door. Hikari immediately stood, and the boy dashed for the closet.

Slowly, Kari opened the door. A wave of relief swept over her as she saw who it was. "Yolei, come in quickly…" she said as the lavender haired girl hurried into the room.

Her face was red, and she looked a little flustered; she seemed to have just gotten off doing some work. "I'm sorry that I took so long…That stupid man made me do even more work! I swear…if we ever get out of this place…"

The younger girl smiled. "Well, I think that this is perfect timing, actually…" she turned. "Takeru, you can come out…it's only Yolei."

Carefully, the closet door opened, and he stepped out. He gave a small smile as he did so, and stood just in front of the door.

Yolei raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And just how long has he been here, and what have the two of you been up to?"

It took a moment for Hikari to realize just what it was that was being implied. During that small revelation period, her face darkened a few shades of crimson. "N-no! N-nothing happened! Takeru is here to tell us a message, that's all! And besides, he's only been here a few minutes…he was just in the middle of telling me just what it is that we are to be doing…"

Yolei only nodded her head. She bit her lip and made no other comments.

Takeru, through the duration of the moment, had turned his attention out the window and was also blushing profusely. Only when he heard the sound of Hikari clearing her throat did he realize that the conversation was finished.

"Oh, uh…yeah. So, as I was telling Kari before, the others are all around the castle. We've found them all, and you two are the only ones that we need to get back. Then, we can figure out just what it is that we need to be fixing."

The two girls nodded. "So, I've just pretty much come here to tell you that. Also, we're going to get you out of here. The others are also staking out the area, getting the guard patterns and such. We'll be back tomorrow night to get you. It would be nice if the two of you could be somewhere on ground level, preferably together. If not, then here would be good. If the two of you are in the room, leave the light on in here, and the window open. If down below, then the opposite. However, if anything is wrong, then leave the light on and the window closed…got it?"

Hikari nodded. "We'll do our best. I'll try to convince Sir Guy that Yolei and I need to take a late walk in the garden…so that's where I'll be if all goes well."

Takeru though a moment, the nodded back. "Okay, that should work. I'll see you then…"

The girls watched as he disappeared over the balcony.

Hikari let out a sigh. "This could be a little harder than we've made it out to be…" she lamented.

Yolei smiled. "But love will find a way, right?"

She then moved to dodge the pillow that Kari had thrown at her head.

…….

Very carefully, Takeru made his way back to where his brother had been waiting. It did not take him too long, for the guard watch was not all that heavy at this point. He placed himself beside Matt.

"So?" the older Ishida brother waited for Takeru's response.

"They've been told. Yolei was conveniently meeting Hikari about the same time I got there, so I saw the two of them. They're both fine, but I think that there's a sense that we need to get things done quickly. Hopefully they won't run into any problems…"

Yamato nodded. "Yes, I hope so too…" A wave of silence came over them, then the signal was seen.

"That would be Taichi…I guess that we're all clear to leave, now." said Matt. With that, the two boys stood quietly, and left.

…….

It took a little while for the whole group to reassemble, for a few of them ran into some obstacles. But, after about an hour or so, they were all back. Takeru and Yamato were the last to appear.

"So?" said Tai, with an expectant look on his face.

Takeru had to let out a small smile. It seemed that he was just as worried as he was. For a second, he let his gaze fall on Ken, and he was rather quiet and pensive. Then again, he was never one to express his emotions all that elaborately to the world around him. Although, TK could see the worried expression in his eyes, even though he did not seem to be listening.

"They know what's going on, and the signals too. Now, if everything goes right…we should be okay."

The group went into a lapse of silence. Due to passed experiences, each of them knew that there was much truth to the old saying 'if it can go wrong, it will'. However, one had to always try. Their very lives hung in the balance here, not in the sense that they would be dead (not all of them, at least), but that they would be stuck in this fairy tale world for the rest of their lives. No more families, friends…they would not even see their digimon partners again. It was a very sobering thought, and a series of questions burned on each of their minds. What happens if it all goes wrong? What will become of the digital world? The real one? What about he others that co-existed along side? It would be utter chaos…there was no doubt about it.

"Well, I suppose that we should get some sleep, instead of moping around here all night…"

Heads snapped up to look at the speaker. It was Daisuke.

"What?" he asked, completely (or seemingly) oblivious to the severity of the impending dangers around him.

Mimi sighed, and shook her head. She thought that it was amazing that even she understood what was going on. (1) "It's nothing, Davis. But you're right…I'm tired."

With that, she placed her head on Yamato, who was conveniently sitting beside her. In an instant, she had dropped off to sleep. Yamato shook his head. "They never cease to amaze me…"

One by one, the others began to drift off to sleep. The stone floor of the chapel was hard and cold, but at least they had shelter from the blazing winds outside. It whistled through the place, making an eerie sound as it did. But it was disregarded quite quickly, and seen as something rather normal, as though this were not the first time.

However, there was one that could not sleep. Ken ichijouji sat in the same spot that he had before, and let his mind wander. He was worried, yes, but it was not the thing that kept him awake. He knew that Yolei was strong, and that she and Hikari could pull through all of this. It was something…he could not put a finger on it. There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was going to go terribly wrong.

Sighing, he disregarded it. He was usually wrong about it anyways, right? What good would it do now to put more pressure on the others? Perhaps it was only his emotions getting in the way this time…perhaps he was not as immune to them as he thought. Finally laying down, he attempted to sleep.

…….

The next day, things were rather quiet. There was a solemn atmosphere about the place, only broken once when Davis had so gracefully fallen out of a tree. He was fine though, and even proceeded to go back up the same one. The rest of them later found out that he and Takeru had both been up there, and in a desperate attempt to amuse themselves, had started a bet to see who could go the furthest out on their limb without it breaking.

Besides that small incident, the day dragged on slowly. There was an irritability in the air, and people generally kept to themselves. Even Sora and Mimi had separated themselves and were doing things on their own.

Finally, it was time to head out. They went in the same groups that they had the night before, and were in the same positions and everything. They had gotten in without much trouble, and things seemed to be going well. They were each in a place where they could either see one another, or Hikari's window, for that would be the deciding factor in what plan they would have to execute.

Takeru took a deep breath, and waited. There seemed to be no activity in the room, but the light was on. Though, only one of the doors was open, so he suspected that Kari had not yet had a chance to get everything sorted out just yet.

As they sat there, Takeru watched with wide eyes at what happened next. He watched a figure, presumably Hikari, run and quickly shut the door.

"Shoot…" was all he said.

………………………………...

(1) This is just for all you Mimi fans, lol…don't get me wrong, I really like her, but I didn't mean to make her sound like a total ditz here. She is a bit of one, so that's part of the reason why I made that reference. So please…don't flame me on that! She is a strong character, and I will recognize that in the story….somehow…

And that's it for now! Partly because I've been working on this chapter for so long, and it's been a while since I've updated, and I just can't really think of what to do next! So if any of you guys have suggestions, it might get the next one out sooner! hint hint nudge nudge

Lol…so yeah. See y'all later!


	8. Problems and New Developpments

Calmer of the Storm: Woops! It's been a loooooong time…

Cody: No kidding…

Calmer of the Storm: I'm sorry! I'm just a major procrastinator!

Cody: -whistles-

Calmer of the Storm: -glares- Alright…on with the story…

Hikari was a slightly edgy as the day grew old. The day before, Takeru had come and told them the plan. It was getting close to the time when they were supposed to meet, and they would finally be out of there. But there was a feeling in her spirit; a feeling of dread. She told herself over and over again that it was only nerves, and that everything was going to be alright.

A few moments later, Yolei burst into her room. Hikari immediately looked at her, a look of question on her face. "What is it?"

"Hikari…he's coming! Sir Guy is coming! There's no way you're going to get out of here without being noticed. I heard that he's got something in mind…I hear there a ball or something tonight. You're expected to be there. I heard that if you're not…he'll hunt you down! He also said that he's found the location of the others, of course he thinks it's Robin and his 'band of merry men', but that's beside the point!"

Hikari's heart began to race. "Alright…calm down…" this was mostly for herself; she was even more nervous now. She placed her hand on the other girl's shoulders. "How do you know all this?"

"I work in the kitchen, remember? I can hear what is going on outside. I don't think he's lying."

The two girls stared at each other for a while, as if searching for an answer in the other's eyes.

Yolei spoke after a few moments. "What are we going to do?" her voice was small and timid, the girl was obviously losing hope.

Hikari broke the stare, and looked towards the balcony. "Meet them in the garden as planned…tell them what's happened. Figure something out, if it's a ball, then I'll be in the main room most of the night. Maybe I can get Sir Guy drunk or something…I don't know how that will go over, but I suppose it's worth a try."

The other girl nodded. "I have to go now then, he was on his way up."

A loud voice and footsteps could be heard from the hallway. The two exchanged a frantic look. "Go, Yolei, find the others. I'll figure something out." The girl nodded, and left the room. She did so in a manner that would seem not urgent at all, as if they were only conducting regular business.

Before the man entered the room, Kari rushed to the window and closed it. She turned just in time to see the man enter the room.

"Hello my dear, too cold for you tonight?" he asked, in reference to her having closed the window.

She managed a smile. "I'm not really wearing much in the way of warmth, anyways. And besides, you know how I am, sensitive to the cold and all…"

The man nodded. "Yes…"

An uncomfortable silence followed; at least, it was uncomfortable silence for her. She waited for him to say something.

"As you may have heard, but I am having a dinner tonight, in honor of our wedding."

Hikari tried to hide the shock. "O-oh…Well, I knew there was a ball tonight but-"

He cut her off. "Like I said, you will be my bride…If your precious Robin decides to show up, he's got another thing coming. Besides, you'll be happy with me. And I would like it if you wore that red dress I gave to you a while back." He turned to leave. "I shall see you in half an hour." Sir Guy left the room.

Hikari sat down on the bed, breathing quickly. This was something she had not expected, not in the least. But now…there was no escaping it. The girl flopped back onto the bed. "Please let everything work out…Marion and Sir Guy aren't supposed to get married…and I don't want to die…" she prayed quietly.

After lying there a few more minutes, she got up. In truth, she had no clue what dress he was talking about. However, it was worth a look. She opened the doors to the giant armoire, and looked through the dresses. There were lots of them, dresses that she would do anything to bring back home with her. Soon, she found a red dress, the only one in there. She winced lightly as she looked at it; it wasn't exactly the most decent thing ever. It was very low cut, and very tight. She was not sure she would be able to breathe in it.

Other than the fact that it didn't exactly cover everything, it was a rather beautiful dress. It laced up with red ribbon at the back, and there was ribbon tied at the front. The torso part of the dress was red velvet. The skirt was a lighter red in colour, and the puffed short sleeves were white. A collar of sorts went around the neck, and a golden pendant dangled from it. The collar too was crimson velvet. She found matching shoes, and managed to do her hair up in an elegant fashion. With a sigh, she looked herself over in a mirror, and made her way downstairs.

Yolei rushed down the stairs as soon as she was out of sight. She had to make it to the garden; she knew that the others would have seen Hikari's signal. She had no clue where they would be; she just knew they were waiting for them. She looked for the spot, and stood there. Yolei looked around to see what she could find in the darkness…but she saw nothing. A wave of panic swept over her. Had they left already?

Takeru ran a hand through his hair. "What are we going to do now? Obviously something's wrong…I just don't see what could have happened…"

Yamato wasn't paying any attention to him.

"Yama? Hello! Earth to Yamato!" he said.

His older brother still didn't respond. He seemed to be looking at something. "Hey, TK, does that person over there look familiar to you?" he said after a short while (much to the younger Ishida's annoyance).

Takeru looked, and saw what his brother was so intent on. "Yeah…it looks like Yolei!" he said, suddenly getting excited.

"Calm down…we should go get her. Wait here." He instructed.

"But…" he couldn't continue, for Yamato had already moved off.

The violet haired girl let out a gasp of surprise as someone came up behind her and touched her shoulder. She almost began to cry as she saw who it was. "You have no idea how happy and relieved I am to see someone I know!" she said as she gave him a crushing hug.

Yamato suddenly became rather uncomfortable, and peeled her from his body. "Alright…but uh…let's meet with the others."

"The others are here?" her eyes widened. "Is Ken here!" She asked, wide-eyed.

He nodded carefully. "Uh, yeah, he's here, which is why-"

He couldn't continue because the girl had fallen into hysterics. He sighed, and grabbed her arm. He pulled her into the place where Takeru was still waiting, but not before he gave a signal. It was for them to gather and meet deeper in the forest, where they would not be seen.

It was only a few minutes before all of them were assembled. At the sight of her boyfriend, Yolei lost it again. She attacked him, giving him an even bigger hug than she had Matt. Being the patient person he was, Ken only held her and allowed her to get it all out.

The others had to wait for her, for she was the one they all needed to talk to.

After a short while (though, it was too long for the others in the group), Yolei had sorted herself out. While she wouldn't go too far from Ken's side, she was ready to talk. "There's a ball tonight…" she started.

The group was around her now, some listening more eagerly than others. Cody was leaned against a tree, passively listening. Mimi had perked up at the mention of a ball, and even Sora became slightly interested. Takeru was on the edge of his seat, so to speak, for the whole time since the girl had got there, but one would only attest that to his feelings for the girl still trapped inside the castle. Even Davis was paying attention to the whole thing; he sat quietly beside Taichi, who was just as edgy as Takeru was. Yamato was the only one, other than Cody, who was relatively calm.

"It's in honour of…" She struggled to say it, for she knew what the reaction would be. "…of the wedding."

Taichi narrowed his gaze. "And what wedding would this be?" he asked.

"Well, the one between Hikari and Sir Guy, of course…"

Just as she suspected, certain members of the group did not like what they were hearing. Well, none of them did, but there were a few that acted out upon their reactions more than others.

"What! You're telling me that _my _little sister is getting _married_?"

"Well, apparently so, but not for another week, I hear. There's just a big party tonight. It's the reason she couldn't meet you out here."

Taichi muttered beneath his breath.

Yolei's face suddenly became very serious. "You can't just storm in there and get her like I heard you did Sora. They are _expecting_ something to happen. They are counting on the fact that Takeru, or Robin Hood as he thinks, is going to come for her. He knows that you want her back, and he'll do anything to stop you. He claims to know where you guys are hiding out in Sherwood forest, and I have no doubt that he's already searched out the place and found that no one is there. If that's the case, then he knows that we're in the vicinity. The guard will be extra tight tonight, and I'm certain that he will not let Hikari from his side, much less his sight."

"But we're running out of time…" It was Cody that had spoken up.

They all turned to him.

"We have to make things right before it all falls apart, right? Now, if I've got things right, that doesn't give us a lot of time. If circumstances were well, we would have a week, but they're not. If we don't get Hikari out tonight, we aren't getting out of here at all. Your hiding spot has been found out, and I don't think that that dogs can keep them from the church for very long. It's only a matter of time before they're suspicions that I've been helping out are confirmed."

There was a thick silence that fell over the group. What the boy had said was true; they did not have a lot of time at all.

"So what do we do then?" The quiet voice came from Mimi.

Despair seemed to settle in on them. None of them had any idea as to what they were doing. Hikari was trapped inside, and the guard count was probably increasing by the second.

"She said something about trying to get him drunk…" Yolei added, trying to bring in a ray of hope.

Takeru shook his head. "He won't buy it, I'm sure he won't. He's not stupid. I've never met the guy, but if he's found out where we're hiding and he knows we want her back, then there's no way that he's going to fall for that trick…it's one of the oldest in the book."

Silence fell again.

Just then, Sora spoke up. "Sir Richard."

"What?"

"Sir Richard. Is he not a knight that still serves the rightful king?"

"I though Richard _was _the king…" Davis said.

"Yes, he is, but there's another man…I'm sure he could help us out. It wouldn't be tonight, but I'm sure we could get there in no time, for if I'm correct, then his estate is not too far off. I'm certain that he'd go for it, Sir Guy is more like a thorn in his side than anything else."

Takeru nodded his head. "I say we go for it, but we need to give Hikari a signal…she knows that we're here, and she probably assumes that we're going to get her tonight. We can't just leave her with no hope, for she'll be waiting the night."

Taichi nodded. "Yes, I should have to agree. She's a smart girl, but I don't want to leave her with nothing do hang on to."

No one in the group objected.

Takeru then stood. "Alright…if they're expecting me, then they're going to get me."

Yamato grabbed his wrist. "Wait, Takeru, if you go rushing in there, you're going to get yourself killed. The alarm will be raised, and the rest of us will be killed as well."

The younger boy thought this through. "Then go to the path, and I'll meet you at the edge of town. You'll be out of harms way, and I'm fast enough on my own."

His older brother gave him a stern look.

"Don't worry, I have a plan. No one will even see me."

He knew that he had to trust him. "Alright…" he let go. Takeru bounded off across the garden and headed to the other side of the palace.

Yamato looked at the others, and then stood. "Alright Sora, lead the way."

Calmer of the Storm: Yep! That's it for now, folks! It's not a -huge- cliffy, right? I've just got to sort the ideas in my head a little more…I'll try my hardest to get another chapter out this summer, but I'm only home for two weeks the whole time, and the other times I have no access to a computer.

So, until next time!


	9. Wait

Calmer of the Storm: Hello! I am back with yet another chapter dundunduuuuuun!

Cody: -sweat drop-

Calmer of the Storm: Hehe…I know it took a while…but I've been doing a lot, and I've been going through a lot. This will probably be my last story, except for maybe a one-shot or two.

Cody: …Let's just get on with it…

---

Takeru had made his way around the castle, though he made sure to remain hidden in the bushes. The others had reluctantly made their way to the edge of the town where they would wait. They weren't sure what the boy was up to, but they had known that they had no other choice but to trust in him.

In truth, he himself really didn't know what he was going to do. He had said that he had a plan; he wasn't completely lying, but there wasn't enough of anything there to be really telling the truth, either. He just knew that there was something driving him on; he knew that he had to do this. Not only for Hikari, but for the others too. After Cody had spoken, the urgency of the matter laid heavily upon them. He was right; time _was _running out. None of them wanted to be stuck in this alternate reality for the rest of their lives. Especially TK, for it meant losing Hikari forever.

He noted the number of guards that were out there, and there were many. He sighed deeply as he found that there was no pattern to their watch, and there didn't seem to be any place that was not being watched.

After a few moments of searching, he found a ray of hope, even if it _was _very slight. There seemed to be a spot where the trees had grown more than usual. It was conveniently by a small window, but the chances that she would see him weren't very high. At least, that she would see him without anyone else.

Carefully, he made his way through the brush. He peered through the window, and saw that things hadn't really started yet, but there were still many people in the area. He scanned the room intently, looking for the girl. He finally spotted her; she seemed to be hiding. She was in the corner of the room, leaning against a pillar. He also spotted Sir Guy; He was talking to a group of people.

When he thought that she was looking his way, Takeru tried to get her attention. However, his efforts were futile. She just couldn't see him, and if he did anything more, she wouldn't be the only one.

"Maybe it's time for a more direct approach…" He said to himself.

---

Hikari stood and looked at herself in the mirror. She was stalling for time, though she knew that she did not have a lot of it left. She knew that if she kept him waiting for much longer, he would become angered and any plans or hopes of escape would be completely crushed. And that would be the end of it. Even though she wasn't exactly sure what was going on, she knew that there probably wasn't a lot of time. There was _always _a time limit on things…Doing things before the evil digimon got too powerful, before they multiplied, before the world fell apart…and whatever else could be thrown at them. With a deep sigh, she slowly exited her room.

She had no real problems finding her way down to the ballroom, though she had thought many times that she could easily get herself 'lost'. But, she figured that wouldn't help her case very much either.

Carefully, she peered through the massive double doors that led into the room. The room itself was very beautiful, and she had only seen such sights in pictures and paintings. But even they didn't compare. Were her circumstances different, Hikari would have loved to linger a little longer. But right now, the only thing on her mind was getting out single and alive.

Her gaze swept across the room, and it landed upon the man that had claimed her hand. She shot him a look of disgust; at this point she hated him more than anything. And that was saying a lot, for she wasn't the kind of person to be like that. But she could only shake her head and sigh. There was a slight bit of comfort in the fact that he seemed very busy talking to some of the guests, probably trying to impress them in some way shape or form. So, she took this time to make herself invisible. It was inevitable that she would not be alone for long, but at least she would have a few moments of peace.

Leaning against a pillar in the corner of the room, Hikari allowed herself to drift into thought. She was oblivious to all around her, especially the blonde boy in the window that was trying so desperately to get her attention.

---

Takeru sat back from the window, formulating a plan. He knew that there was no way she would see him if he sat there watching, and he was running out of time. While he was thinking, he subconsciously fiddled with something in his pocket. It was a white rag, probably from the bandages from the chapel. An idea then struck him. In an attempt to formulate his plan, he looked around the ground. A smile spread across his face as he found something that would work.

It was something like coal, for it left a black residue on his fingers. He wasn't certain as to just what it was, but it would serve for what he needed. Carefully, he scribbled a few letters onto the bandage. He pulled an arrow from the quiver that he had been carrying, and pushed the tip through. It ripped some, but the message would still get across.

Taking a deep breath, Takeru stood. This time, he climbed into the window. He notched the arrow, and aimed. No one had seemed to have noticed him yet. Closing his eyes, he muttered a quick prayer. Then, he let the arrow fly. It landed with a loud '_thunk' _into the pillar by the girl.

---

Hikari just about had a heart attack as something pulled her from her thoughts. She heard a few screams from across the room. Recovering from the shock of it all, Hikari quickly looked to see what it was that had landed in the pillar. She noticed the arrow, and the white piece of cloth attached to it. Quickly, she ripped the piece from the wall. She opened it, and saw one word.

'Wait'.

She lifted her head and looked to the window, just in time to see the blonde-haired boy give her a quick nod, and then swiftly turn in retreat. It gave her slight hope, but she knew that she would not be getting out that night.

---

Takeru heard the scream, and knew that he didn't have a lot of time. Luckily, Hikari had the sense to pull the note from the arrow before anyone got too close. Her head lifted, and they made eye contact. It was enough, for he had to get out of there before it was too late. Giving a curt nod, he turned and fled.

It was not long before he could hear the sounds of his pursuers. But he was faster than they were, for he bore no armor, and he would be into the woods long before the others got their horses. He had never run so fast in his life, not even in all the basketball games he had played in. He had been chased those time too; but they weren't after him with swords and spears with the sole intent of killing him.

The others heard something coming up the path, and immediately stood.

"Hey, Takeru what's-" Matt started, but his brother cut him off.

"Run! And don't stop!" He shouted, zooming passed them without stopping.

The others needed no prodding; they were off after him in a flash. They tore through Sherwood forest like mad things, not bothering to look back. Chances were that they had lost most of the soldiers, but they didn't want to take the chance that they hadn't.

Reaching the old chapel, they crammed into the cellar, while Cody remained out. Not long after, the dogs began to bark and some soldiers came knocking at the door.

Calmly, the boy answered it. "Yes?" He asked, trying his best not to sound out of breath.

They looked at him suspiciously. "You wouldn't happen to have seen anyone come through here, would you?"

Cody thought a moment before speaking. "I did see someone running though here; actually, there were a few of them. It was dark, and they were moving very quickly. I would not have seen anything, but the dogs were barking at them. I cannot say which way they went; I wasn't really paying that close attention. I was just trying to make sure the dogs didn't go running after them.

If there was one thing the boy hated more than anything, it was lying. His Grandfather had impressed it strongly upon him that lying was the worst thing a person could do, and he had come to believe like that himself. But it had been Joe that told him that sometimes it was okay, if it was a situation where someone was in danger. In this case, his own life and the lives of his friends were at stake. But still…he couldn't help but feel a slight pang of guilt.

The soldiers were silent a moment, but eventually bought his story. "Alright, then. But if you do see something, you are obligated to inform Sir Guy immediately. There _will _be consequences if you are found to be hiding something." A smirk crossed his face. "But we all know that's not the case here."

With that, they turned and left. Cody watched them, Hunter growling lowly beside him. He placed a hand on the dog's head to calm him, but didn't hold him back further.

After they had gone, he let out a sigh. He head doors creaking, and didn't have to turn around to know that the others were emerging from their hiding spot.

"They're gone, but their suspicions are not swayed." He turned slowly. "We still do not have much time, and even less now, I gather."

There was a solemn silence that hung in the air, for they all knew this to be true.

A loud smack filled the room.

"Ow…" said Takeru, rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you trying to get us _killed_?" a fuming Yamato said.

"Look, there was no other way. She was on the other side of the room, and there was no way for me to get there without things being worse. I did what I had to. We're still alive, aren't we? And she got the message. Isn't that what we had set out to accomplish?" he replied back.

"There had to have been another way." His brother returned, his voice not calm.

"There _was_ no other way." Takeru said, his voice rising in volume.

"Alright boys, I don't think we have time for this." It was Ken who spoke. The brothers sat quietly, but neither were very happy with the other.

"So now we need a _real _plan. Getting her out isn't going to be as easy as it was for Sora. It'll have to be something quick, and hopefully something that won't be noticed by too many. And after we get her back; we've got to find some way to get home. I don't think we've even considered that yet, and I think we should. Something tells me we won't have a lot of time between when we get her and when Sir Guy is on our tails in lust for our blood, even more than he is now." Tai said, taking charge.

The others agreed with him, though said nothing.

"We should do it tomorrow, perhaps even very early in the morning. They won't be expecting us then." Ken offered.

"That sounds like a good plan, now we just have to figure out a way to get to her."

---

Immediately, Sir Guy came running over to her. "Are you alright?" he asked, though she did not think any better of him for his concern, for it was clearly not genuine.

"I-I'm fine…just a little startled, that's all." she said. It wasn't really all that far from the truth.

He eyed her carefully. "Do you have any idea what that was about?" he asked.

Hikari promptly shook her head. "I don't have a clue. I was just standing here and…well, it came out of no where. I don't even know who it belongs to."

He didn't seem to be buying it. "You're hiding something."

She tried to look puzzled, and appalled. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about, and you're accusing me of lying?" she said.

He was silent a moment, then leaned in towards her. "If I find anything, it will be your life, as well as Robin's, that will be paid." He whispered into her ear. Before pulling away, he left a kiss on her cheek, as if it were some sort of taunt to her. "Be good, I've got a matter to deal with."

The girl glared daggers at his retreating form. She hated him more now than ever. Her body heaved with a great sigh. "Be careful Takeru…I'll wait…but I don't know how much time I have left…."

---

Calmer of the Storm: Yep, so that's it for now. Hopefully it won't be so long next time…I'm kind of stuck here for ideas, so if _anyone _has any, I'd love to hear them! If not…I'll think of something.


	10. A Trade

Calmer of the Storm: Look! I have a new chapter!

Cody: -mumbles- Took you long enough…

Calmer of the Storm: Weeeeell….I'm a lazy bum. I'll admit that. And the ideas in this chapter, I give credit to crazy fan 35. She's the one that helped me through my little lapse of writers block! So giving ideas pays, people…lol. Anyways, enough talk, on with the story!

---

A deep sigh escaped Hikari's lips. She had made her way back up to her room, and was now sitting on the bed, fiddling with the piece of cloth that had been attached to the arrow. She was still a little shaken by the whole ordeal; it had scared her half to death. If there was one thing she did not appreciate, it was things that happened out of no where. She'd kill Takeru when this was over for his actions. However, she knew that he really had no other choice. But still…he'd learn never to do something like that again.

---

A yawn was emitted from the boy, Daisuke. None of them had gotten any sleep at all that night, for they were up planning. "Guys, don't you think it would have been smart just to get even a _little _sleep?" He lamented.

He was, of course, very right in his statement, but it was a little late for that now. It was rather unwise to delve head-first into a situation such as the one they were about to with bodies that were in danger of failing them at any moment.

Takeru shot the other a cold look, but said nothing.

Daisuke merely shrugged. For once, he refrained from responding with a not-so-witty remark.

Taichi sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So is everyone okay with this?" He asked.

There were tired nods from within the group.

"Good. I suppose that we should head out, then. Cody, you got the dogs all set?" The boy nodded. He needed them to remain near the church, and had tied them up. He regretted doing so, but it had to be done. They needed the dogs to stay behind and not follow their master, for their baying and barking could give them away.

Tai stood up. "Alright, let's get this over with. And please, no one do anything stupid. We don't have the time for that now. We all just want to go home in once piece."

He was particularly looking towards the blonde, who was looking at the ground at this point. His elder brother elbowed him, and received a glare in return.

"Hey, Yamato, what was-"

He was silenced by a dangerous look from Tai. No one had the patience. Takeru sighed, and followed.

---

It was not long before they were all in position. Yolei had been very helpful in that she had been able to give them the layout of the castle and its surrounding area. She also knew what the guard was like at certain points, for she and Hikari had mapped it out so that they could perhaps escape sometime. Neither of them realized, however, just how difficult it would be to get out, much less, back in.

But that was where she came in. Yolei suspected that no one would really notice that she was missing. They always thought her a lazy servant, anyways, and she had become Hikari's personal hand-maid.

The violet haired girl was now in the courtyard, making her way to Hikari's room. It was very early in the morning, and the morning mist was thick and the ground thick with dew.

"You there, what are you doing?"

Yolei stopped dead, and her heart began to pound. It was the voice of none other than Sir Guy.

Bowing her head, she turned to him. This was more out of the fact that this way he couldn't read her expressions, then out of respect.

"Ms. Marion wishes for me to aid her this morning." She said. She had rehearsed this just in case something like this would happen.

"So early?" he was getting suspicious.

Yolei stumbled a bit. "Her grace wishes to get an early start today. L-last night was a start for her, and she wished to begin the day looking fresh. Such a thing requires a little extra preparation. I am making my way from my quarters to hers now."

He was silent, and eyed her carefully.

"Be on your way, then. And tell her that I wish to see her when she is finished." He turned and left.

"Yes Sir…" she said.

Not staying to watch him go, the girl raced into the castle as if her life depended on it. It had been a close call, and she was worried that he had not completely bought her story. But then again, what reasons did he have to distrust her? As far as he knew, she was simply a hired slave. At least he hadn't realized she was missing. The man wasn't the brightest bulb in the box a lot of the time. It was his suspicions and his ability to make others fear him that kept him in power.

It was not long before she had made her way to Hikari's room.

---

There was a knock at the door, and it woke Hikari from her sleep. Grumbling, she rolled over and ignored it. She had not slept well the night before, and didn't wish to deal with Sir Guy so early.

The knocking persisted, getting louder.

"Alright, alright. Just hang on a moment…"

Hikari put on a robe and opened the door. She was greeted by the softly-smiling face of Yolei. In a burst of happiness, she threw her arms around the girl.

"Shhh…we have to be quiet." She said, trying to calm her. "We don't have a lot of time."

"What's going on? What are you doing back here?" She asked, not bothering to quell her excitement.

"We're breaking you out." She said.

"What?"

"You heard me. We're getting you out of here this time, no matter what it takes. Your brother and Matt have already managed to steal some horses from the manor where Sora was living, so getaway will be swift. Sir Guy is on the prowl outside, but I managed to get in. It's a short distance to the tree cover, and when we get there, we're home free. We just need to get out of the castle itself." Yolei wasted no time, for there was none.

Hikari nodded. "Shall we go, then?" she said.

Yolei turned and slowly opened the door. The pair made their way through the castle, and were met only by some curious stares shot by the servants who were already working. Most of them could have cared less. They only hoped that none of them would put things together and become a snitch. It would cost their lives.

The sun was just beginning to peer over the trees as they made their way into the front courtyards. It brought relief, as they pulled into the fresh, morning air. They were a few steps now away from freedom. Would they get there? They prayed that they would.

On they went, and before long, they were merely meters from the tree line. Hikari could see some of the others now, who were poised in various positions and places. Everything had been timed quite well.

Save for one thing. There was a factor that they had not taken into account. They had forgotten Murphy's Law. Whatever can go wrong, will. And it was at that point that Sir Guy conveniently made his appearance.

"I suspected something was up." He said, coming from behind the two girls. There was a cocky smirk on his face now, and he seemed quite pleased with himself. "I thought it was strange to see you around, first thing in the morning. Especially since I hadn't seen you in a while. Very clever, I must admit, but not quite clever enough. Never will you outsmart me." He said, advancing.

"I don't think you'll be doing any of that. You've stolen enough already, and she clearly wants nothing to do with you." Takeru had made his way around, and bow and arrow were drawn.

Sir Guy's smirk became a grin. "Now isn't this convenient. I've been searching for you and your wretched band of outlaws for months. I always knew that you'd give everything up so easily."

He strung the arrow, but kept it pointed down. He knew the importance of keeping such a weapon pointed away from a person until the time was right. It was the reason, he knew, that Robin Hood had become an outlaw in the first place. Such mistakes were costly. But how simple it would be, if he were to accidentally let the arrow fly…how easily would their problems be gone? He knew it would be the contrary. Sir Guy still had myriads of followers. He merely glared daggers at the man before him.

Hikari and Yolei had made their way to his side now. They were frightened for their lives and his.

Something caught Takeru's eye. His heart raced, and urgency filled him. "Run." He whispered harshly, though he was certain his words were not inaudible to the other. "Go, now!" he said. Hikari knew not what he was up to, but began to retreat backwards along with the other girl.

"If you take one step, Sir Robin, forwards or back, I promise you that you will be pierced by more arrows that you could ever even dream of making." It was a threat, and Takeru knew how real it was.

"Run, Hikari, I told you to run!" Fear in her eyes, she turned. Yolei had already made it into the forest.

Stopping in the tree line, she turned to look at him. "Takeru!"

"Get away!" He called, not daring to turn his head. He smirked towards Sir Guy. "Your bride is getting away."

"I'll have her once you are dead. She won't be difficult to reclaim once I've got a rope around your neck. And your band of outlaws will be apprehended even before they make it to their camp. We've discovered it, you know."

Takeru's eyes went wide. He only hoped that Hikari had heard this statement, and had enough sense to tell the others.

It occurred to him that he had not heard the sounds of retreat. "Go Hikari before they kill you! I'll follow when I can!"

There was an urgency and almost anger in his voice that obliged her to follow his instructions. Turning, she dashed into the forest, and was met by Yolei. She had found the others, who had since moved from their spots. They did not know that they had been caught. The plan was, once the girls were spotted, to move from their spots and high tail it out.

But now, there was worry on everyone's faces. Hikari ran to her brother and embraced him. Tears flooded her eyes from the emotional stress that had been building the passed few days, and even more so the passed few moments.

"We'll head back to camp and regroup." Came her brother's voice.

The band started to move, getting on the backs of the stolen horses. Hikari was pulled from her daze as the words registered.

"No!" She shouted, suddenly.

"What is it?" asked Tai.

"We can't go back there. Sir Guy says he's found the camp." Her voice was serious, and they knew not to ignore this.

"So what do we do, then?" It was Daisuke who had spoken.

There was no response from the group, and hope faded. It seemed that they would not be getting home anytime soon.

"Sir Richard." It was Sora who had spoken.

"What? King Richard is in jail." Said Ken.

"No, _Sir _Richard. He's a knight, loyal to the king. I believe that he Robin Hood in the stories, what would stop him now? He's our only hope."

Tai nodded. "Do you know where we can find him?" Things darkened again.

"Wait…the castle, he's in another castle, or fortress or something. It's just beyond the borders of this once, opposite Sherwood Forest. I heard Sir Guy talk about it once. The two of them don't get along at all." They were grateful for Hikari's memory.

"Then we should go quickly. It's clear we won't be getting TK back soon, but if memory serves me correctly, they won't hang him until tomorrow morning. They may…torture him in the meantime, but at least he'll live." Ken's smooth reasoning came through.

This did not bode well with Hikari, or any of them for that matter. They weren't too happy with this information. Just the simple fact that they were helpless was enough to render them into a sort of depression. But it could not be helped, and they had to go with what was given to them.

They piled onto the horses. Sora, who had had previous knowledge of riding before, took charge of the group. She would lead them. They only hoped the other horses would follow, seeing as they are herd animals. Hikari sat behind her, in order to give her any directions that she could.

The others were paired up, some with no knowledge of how exactly to ride. Mimi was a little tentative, but after a little coaxing, she was boosted up behind Yolei. Taichi and Daisuke were on another, and Matt and Ken each on their own. They would not be able to move at a lightning pace, due to the fact that the horses were a little more heavily burdened than usual, but they would make it faster than on foot.

---

There was little taking, save for between Sora and Kari. The brunette did her best to recall what had been said of the place, picking out landmarks that she had heard about in the discussion. It took them a little while, and it was well into the afternoon before they saw the towering white walls of Sir Richard's fortress. It was a welcomed sight, for they were all weary from the ride. Many of them were quite sore, as one usually is after their first time on the back of a horse. Not to mention that it was not all that comfortable; cramming two people into a saddle built for one. But they had made it.

They neared the gate, and were stopped by some guards. They were so elated with their find that they had not really noticed the fact that they were not greeted with smiling faces. The group stopped, some of them having trouble. A few of the horses had it in their minds that they deserved a break, and to the dismay of Yolei and Mimi, their horse dashed abruptly to the side, and proceeded to tear at the grass. Its antics almost threw the girls, but they miraculously managed to stay on. They were a sorry bunch, to say the least.

"What business do you have here?" came a voice. It was one of the guards in front of them.

"We need to speak with Sir Richard." Answered Sora.

They were silent a moment. "You are not permitted to pass."

"What? You don't understand! We need his help!" She exclaimed.

"So do all who come to these gates." He said. There was no sympathy in his voice,

"Please…we are here on behalf of…of Robin Hood. If there is any more delay, he will be dead by sunrise."

The guards were silent another moment.

"Come with me, then."

A wave of relief hit them, and they passed through the gate. One of the guards went and pulled on the bridle of the grazing horse, and pulled him through. He sensed that the girls wouldn't have the strength to pull him up and get him to where they needed him to go. The two were quite embarrassed by this.

Dismounting, there were a few groans of pain and discomfort from the group. "We should have walked…" It was Daisuke. He'd never done such a thing before.

"It'll be worse in the morning." Replied Sora.

He only groaned again in response.

---

It was not long before they were led into a great hall. It was not unlike the one in the other palace, Kari noted, but it was slightly less elaborate. They were greeted by some servants. Yolei noted that they seemed a little happier than the ones at the other place.

Soon, a bearded middle-aged man came through some large double doors at the side of the room. The made his way towards them.

"So you come here seeking my aid on account of the one called Robin of the Hood?"

Tai took charge. "Yes. He has been captured, and he will be hanged tomorrow morning, we suspect. But not before being tortured today. We can only hope that he is alright now."

"And I'm sure he's fine." There was a pause. "You are welcome to stay the night, for you look weary. I will prepare a meal for you, and in the morning, you will be on your way. I am afraid that I cannot help you."

There was no response, for each and every one of them was stunned beyond words.

---

Calmer of the Storm: Be happy! I got another chapter out! And I have ideas for the next, but more are welcome! I hope to have this one out a little earlier than I did this one…but I will make no promises, lol. I'm lazy and forgetful…


	11. A plan is set

Calmer of the Storm: -Ahem-…….

Cody: …

Calmer of the Storm: Uh…woops…hehehe….

Cody: -raises eyebrow-

Calmer of the Storm: Uh…waddya know…I'm back! –gulp- Uh…yeah. I got busy…I'm sorry! I'm not good at keeping my promises. I don't even know how many chapters are left…it all depends on how many stupid plot twists I decide to put in, lol. Almost there, I think….

Cody: You'd better hope they're still around.

Calmer of the Storm: What, my readers? Of course they are! -hears crickets- Uh….

---

Hikari ate in silence, as did the rest of them. They had the opportunity to eat at Sir Richard's table. It was long and thin, made of solid wood, probably oak. The meal that was placed before them was like nothing they'd ever seen, only read about in stories. But here it was; a feast that could feed a small army. But none of them were really in the mood for eating. Even Davis only picked at his food.

After a good fifteen minutes or so, Kari abruptly stood, the chair making a scraping sound as it slid across the stone floor. The others all looked up from their food, but she neither looked at them nor said nothing to them. Her crimson gaze fell on Sir Richard, who was at the head of the table. But even then, she could not meet his eyes.

"Excuse me." She stated softly, then turned and left.

The girl made her way outside. Even though the room was massive, easily two stories high and very wide, she felt as if she were going to suffocate. She was not one to be claustrophobic, however she was feeling anxious. With a sigh she ran a hand through her brown hair. Things were not sitting well with her.

She was about to lose her best friend. The person who knew her best, and the boy…man…she potentially loved. There were feelings for him that surpassed friendship, but she wasn't so quick as to label them as love. It was such a delicate thing. But what she did know was that she would do anything to get him back. He'd risked his life for her, and now he was going to die for her. Was this a knight's price for being chivalrous? Was this a man's price for being selfless?

Tears began to fall down her face. They shocked her, for she had not even realized that she had begun to cry. But she did not stop them. Who wouldn't cry in this situation? Her hands clenched at her side as the floodgates began to open. Reality was setting in. Sir Richard had….no, _she_ had condemned him to death. If only she'd been more careful about leaving, if only she'd waited a little longer, if only-

"I should have to say that it's a rather nice night."

It took a moment for the voice to register in her head, for she was not yet familiar with it. It was the voice of Sir Richard. Hikari did not turn to him, for she did not think she could face him. Not right now. Not after what he had said. There were many people at fault here, but one is always looking to point the blame. Even though she had, only moments eariler, convinced that she herself was to blame, pointing the finger always felt better. She swallowed hard, and silence enveloped them.

It was broken by a sigh from the older man. "Marion, look, I know what you feel for him…"

Confusion danced across her face for a moment. That wasn't her name…but wait. It was. She had passed into history and had taken on this character. Of course….she knew that. How could she forget? It was all that Sir Guy referred to her as. No one here knew her real name.

The girl sniffed. "You have no idea what I'm feeling right now." She was surprised at the words coming out of her own mouth. There was a bitter, biting tone that went with them, and they stung through the serenity of the night. Since when did she get so hostile? But there was no time to think about that now.

There was another lapse of silence. "No, you're right. I don't."

Green eyes seemed like they would bore a hole into her head.

Slowly, she turned to him. "Then why are you doing this? It would have been better if you had refused us at the gate."

He licked his lips; he seemed to be struggling with something. "Robin is a dear friend of mine…" Sir Richard started, but the sentence failed him.

"Then why are you condemning him to death?" she cried, her voice raising a little. Beneath the sadness anger had emerged. Finally she lifted her gaze to meet his own.

He looked as if he were searching for words. "Sir Guy has every right to do what he's doing. Whether we like it or not, he does have claim to the throne. Not until the rightful king comes back can we do anything about it."

"Then free him! Do something! I don't care…I'll do it myself if I have to!"

"King Richard is in France."

"Then we'll overthrow Sir Guy, take his men, gather the loyal, and get him back!" She was thinking rather irrationally now.

"Marion, if it was in my power, I would do that very thing. But that is not the way this world works. Sir Guy has authority, and I, as a subordinate, have no right to question it."

"Does the word 'rebellion' mean nothing to you?"

Anger flashed through his eyes. "If I had known you were going to be smart with me, perhaps I would not have allowed you as guests in my home. You are fugitives, I know that much. Or else you would not have burdened those poor horses with so much. And you are to be married to Sir Guy himself. I have already broken the law by harbouring you here, and you ask me to rebel? My lady, I have a reputation as an upstanding citizen, and I do not wish for that to change. The king himself would not approve of such behaviour."

Her jaw clenched. Part of her wanted to flee, but she had gotten herself in too deep for that. "A good man is going to die. He's going to die because every day he risked his life for the people. People like _you_. He sought for ways to free the king, and he will do so until his last breath. This is a man who has not looked for any pleasures in life, and he's finally going to 'get what was coming', according to Sir Guy and evidently, you. I don't care what you or anyone else has to say about it; I'm going to take a horse and go down there myself. If I die, so be it. I would rather die knowing that I was doing the right thing than sitting back and watching a person that I care very deeply for go to his death because of me." A little bit much, perhaps, but she almost felt better about saying it. But she had made up her mind; she was going after him. Tonight. With that thought, she turned away and began to head for the stables.

"My Lady, I would not advise such action."

She spun back around to face him. "At this point, my lord, I don't think it really matters to me. Getting him back holds more meaning than just having him. There is no way to make you understand." Not only would she have lost Takeru, but they would all be stuck there for the rest of their lives. It was not something that she was really looking forward to.

Another long moment of silence fell between them. Sir Richard seemed to be thinking things over. "Get some sleep, my lady. Early tomorrow some of my men and I will ride along with you and your companions, and we will get him back." There was a note of defeat in his voice.

Hikari was dumbstruck. A part of her thought she should leap for joy and hug the man, and remain on cloud nine for the rest of the night. But she didn't…the euphoria wasn't there.

"Why?" came the simple question. It was all that would come out.

"Because…" he paused. "Because I'll never hear the end of it if I don't. Things will fall apart for me, anyways…I may as well go down fighting." There was no happiness, no comfort in his voice.

They started at each other for a long time, and they seemed to come to some sort of understanding. Hikari finally left, leaving the man to contemplate what he had gotten himself into.

---

What they didn't know was that in the heart of France, a resistance movement had already begun to take place. The faithful few had grown over the years, and word was getting around the Richard the Lionheart was going to be freed. Only time would tell.

---

It was early morning, and the castle was bustling with activity. Knights that served Sir Richard had been gathered. They all knew what they were here for. Some of them didn't like the idea, but were bound by their word to serve he that was higher than they. Others were thrilled at the idea, for they had been wondering when someone was going to do something like this. Many of them knew the boy personally, and were going to risk life and limb for him.

Sitting up, Taichi rubbed his eyes. He'd heard noises outside. Glancing out the window, he saw that it was still quite dark. Confusion set in, and he tossed the sheets aside. The boys had all been put in one room, and the girls in another.

Bare feet touched the cold, stone floor and he winced at the feeling. He was used to the sensation of carpet beneath his toes first thing in the morning. It made it seem that a simple thing such as that was something not to be taken for granted. Before he could make his way to the door, someone burst into the room. It was a young man, whom Tai did not recognize. This was either due to the darkness, the fact that he was not awake, or this man was new in the castle. The light of his torch cast eerie shadows through the pitch dark room.

"It's time to get up; we're leaving within the half hour." The man said abruptly, then left in the same manner as he had come.

The confusion only got greater, and Tai stood there a moment, allowing for the words to sink in. "Where are we going?" he voiced aloud, though to no one in particular. He shrugged, and figured he'd wake the rest of them.

"C'mon guys…time to get up…" He said, still not quite awake himself.

He was met with a few protests. Cody and Ken were the only two that actually got up. He knew the other two were at least semi-conscious, so he figured he'd tell them what he was told. "Some guy just came in and told us we're leaving soon. I don't know why or where we're going, but I don't really want to be left behind. You guys do what you want; I'm heading out."

He grabbed the shirt that he had been wearing the day before, and pulled it over his head. He had to be careful of where he was going, for it was still quite dark. None of them knew what time it really was, and it was anyone's guess. But there was no doubt that it was quite early.

Needless to say, his words had gotten the rest of them out of their beds. Davis was the last to vacate his, but managed to dash out the door just behind Matt. They made their way through the winding corridors and down a few flights of stairs into the courtroom where the girls, Sir Richard, and a couple dozen other men were standing.

---

Morning could not come fast enough for the brunette-haired girl. The conversation of the previous night still rang through her mind. What had caused him to change his mind? It couldn't have been her own words, for they were rude and driven only by a blind desire to rescue her friend. But eventually, she had succumbed to sleep, as all do in the end.

The stirrings outside her door caused her to waken. It occurred to her that she had not spoken of what was going on to any of the others. In a flurry of emotions she had neglected to do so the night before. That, and it had been very late. She just wanted to sleep, and for the morning to come.

Sitting up, she allowed herself to re-orient herself. Hikari slid out of bed, and gently woke the other girls. There were some protests, but she was insistent. She did not explain herself just yet, for she only felt the need to do so once. When she'd woken them all, she proceeded to grab the dress that she had been wearing. She spoke while putting it on.

"We're going after Takeru." She stated, bluntly.

There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke. "Hikari, you're going to get yourself, us, and Takeru killed. You can't do this; what would your brother say?" It was Sora who had spoken up.

Hikari looked at her the best she could in the dark. "He's coming too."

They waited for her to explain herself. "I talked with Sir Richard last night…" her voice was at a whisper. "I don't know why or how, but he's agreed to help us."

There was a tinge of sadness in the girl's voice that they could not quite place. This brought a stream of questions to the three other girls, but none of them had the heart to ask her about it. Whatever was troubling her was for her to deal with.

Sora rose. "Well, let's go, then. We're not sitting around and doing nothing."

A light smile stretched across the younger girl's lips. The truth was, it was Richard's decision that was troubling her. She did not doubt his loyalty to them, or his motives. It was the way he had agreed to help. He was almost…she couldn't quite place it. Needless to say, he was probably putting himself on the line in more ways than one. She only hoped that when all was righted and they were finally going to get home, he'd be alright. She understood that he was, in a sense, committing treason, which was punishable by death, but wouldn't the king see that he was doing it for a greater good? Surely the king knew of Robin Hood, right?

With a sigh, she shook her head. It was not the time to be thinking about this.

The girls did not take long to ready themselves, and were in the courtroom before long. They were greeted by Sir Richard and his knights, as well as a light breakfast. Fruits and breads, but it would do. They did not have long.

As they were eating, the boys made their way down. It was hard not to smile at the confused looks on their faces, however no one laughed. There was a sense of foreboding in the air. The knights of Sir Guy were not stupid; they had gone through their training just like any other. They only hoped they could get through this with as little grief as possible.

When they had made their way to the bottom, Sir Richard greeted them as well. "Are you ready? As soon as you've eaten, we'll go. I've got some extra horses that you can ride."

Davis' face fell at the thought of riding again. Sora was right…it _was _worse the next morning. He'd hobbled through the hallways, though noticed that he wasn't the only one. Of course, none of the others would admit to it.

Tai scratched his head. "Uh, what exactly is going on?" He voiced the question that was on all of their minds.

Sir Richard blinked. It hadn't occurred to him that they didn't know what was going on. "Why, we're going after your friend. Was Robin Hood not captured yesterday?"

They exchanged glances, then looked to the girls. It was clear that they knew what was going on. "You couldn't have said anything?" Tai said, grabbing some fruit and making his way to where the girls were standing.

"Sorry, Kari only told us this morning." Sora said.

He looked to his sister, raising an eyebrow. He'd taken a bite of the fruit, so his mouth was full.

She looked to the floor, for whatever reason. "I'm sorry, it was very late when the decision was made."

He swallowed, and placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. He could tell that there was something bothering her, on top of having all the emotions rushing through her. "Hey, it's going to be fine. We've been in worse situations, right? And we've always pulled through. Nothing's going to stand in the way between us and getting him back, okay?" He took another bite.

Slowly, she nodded her head. Lifting it, there was a soft smile on her face. "Thanks…"

He smiled to match her own. "No problem."

---

Only a few minutes had passed before they were all ready to go. They had been fitted with swords, but were instructed not to use them unless necessary. Cody carried his staff, and insisted that it was the only weapon that he would need. The teen refused to carry a sword, much less wield it against another.

Nodding in understanding, Sir Richard gave a speech. He revealed the plan, and they were off. The group was hoisted up into their horses, and would ride in the middle of the company. This would ensure that their horses could neither bolt nor pull anything, and if something did go wrong, they could be easily helped. Stealth would be the key here, for it would be what saved them.

As they set out the sun had not yet begun to show its face. But it was just as well, thought Kari, for Takeru only had until sunrise.

---

Takeru had gotten only a few hours of sleep. They'd thrown him into a cold, slimy dungeon filled with rats and other things that he wasn't even sure he wanted to know about. They'd not chained him, he was glad, but the cell wasn't exactly homely, either. The stone floor was cold, and water dripped from the ceiling. A tiny, barred window at the top of the cell was his only reference to the outside world. He knew how much time he had, generally, and it wasn't much. He could only hope that his friends could muster something in time to get him out. If they didn't, well, he'd be dead and they'd be stuck here. Forever. Never seeing Kari again wasn't sitting well with him, either. For that matter, never seeing Patamon, his family, friends, even his school again wasn't going over too well.

For the child of hope, he didn't seem to have much of it.

---

Calmer of the Storm: haha! I'm done! I've got a couple of ideas in the works, and maybe I'll kick my butt into gear and get the next one out earlier, but for all that know me….no promising! I'm horrible, I know. Maybe two chapters, maybe three…I don't know yet. But it's almost there!

So, like it? Hate it? Got ideas? Let me know!


	12. Action

Calmer of the Storm: …Yeah, I know it's been a while. But I promise that I am not dead! I will finish this story, no matter how long it takes me. University really is time and life consuming, I'll tell you…

Cody: And all those hours of sitting around doing nothing are…

Calmer of the Storm: Uh…those are…times for my brain to regenerate.

Cody: Uh-huh. And what should you actually be doing right now?

Calmer of the Storm: Cody! You don't want me to finish the story!

Cody: You're avoiding the question.

Calmer of the Storm:…..I should be paying attention in class….but music history isn't really all that exciting, and it's not like we're doing anything at the moment…

Cody:…

Calmer of the Storm: Well, class is over now, anyways. Time to write!

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The sound of hoof beats echoed as thunder through the dense forest. The night's hold was losing its grip, and morning's light was beginning to make its presence known. The mist had formed, covering the ground in a thick blanket that was penetrated solely by the rushing of hooves and a fury of flying feet.

The small army drew closer to the castle, each rider knowing full well what awaited them. In the heart of the forest they split, forming a thin line that would ring around the grounds where the hanging was to take place. Sir Guy had a boastful nature, and he would make a public statement to all who would plot against him; the peoples' beloved hero had been caught, and he was going to pay for his treason against the crown. Hundreds would gather to see it. The peasants would mourn and those faithful to Sir Guy, and those that feared him enough, would rejoice in the spectacle. It would be a great victory in the war which divided a kingdom.

Reaching a certain point, the pace of the army was slowed from the frantic gallop to a mere walk. They could not afford a big entrance, for it would for one thing give them away, but it could also force the execution to occur faster than they wanted it to. Time was something they needed, and they certainly did not have very much of it to begin with.

The plan was in place, even though it was a loose one, at best. It would be a great risk, and one wrong move, or even a right move at the wrong time, would cost everything. Hikari knew the implications of what they were getting themselves into. In her mind she went over her brother's words that everything was going to be alright. For a brief moment, she had believed him. However human nature had set in, and along with it, doubt. She thought back to the time she recalled best as a child which was perhaps comparable to this. There was no word that could describe the feeling of being hunted by an insane clown thing that was bent on being the very end of you. Running through a terrain that he knew all too well, and you knew nothing of. The sound of the maniacal laughter that said he knew it was only a matter of time before he caught up. He'd already gotten everyone else; why should you survive as well?

Hikari shuddered in the saddle. Was Taichi right? Could they get through this? Things in the digital world…they seemed different. Almost less real than this was now. Perhaps it was because they had the digimon to accompany them, and they had always pulled through before. Always being pressed on to a greater potential; a greater power.

But they weren't here now. This wasn't a game. Then again, when was it ever? But she still couldn't shake this feeling of hopelessness. The small mare she sat upon seemed to feed off of her nerves, for she danced in her spot and tossed her head frequently. At least she wasn't making any noise. Only the horses of Sir Richard's men seemed at ease with the whole situation. Perhaps that was only due to the fact that the soldiers themselves sat perfectly still in the saddle.

A quick, nervous glance was cast her brother's way, and he looked the same as he always did in these situations. His face had hardened and his lips drawn to a thin line. Hands clutched the reins tightly, and jaw was tense. He was determined, just as he always was. Kari admired his courage to be so still in the time of peril. She always had.

He took note of her glance, and turned slightly to return it. Taichi knew that she was very worried. Somehow he had become the leader of the group, and he was now taking full responsibility of getting Takeru back.

Even if it meant he'd probably be dating his sister when it was all over. Not that he didn't like the boy…it was just that she was his baby sister. No one would be good enough for her.

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The sound of a creaking wooden door being opened violently was what woke Takeru from his slumber. Confusion hit him for a moment, as he was still in a groggy state. Reality finally hit him, and he slumped further against the cold, hard wall that he had been thrown at when first put in the cell. Well, it could be seen as a good thing…the groggy state…for it meant that he actually had gotten some sleep that night. He couldn't recall falling unto such a state, but evidently he had.

But that didn't make it any easier for him. The jailer came by, and opened his cell. There was a sombre look on his face; he seemed to regret what he was doing. The man's motions were slow and he seemed almost hesitant…like he was being forced.

Shaking his head, he held out a pair of shackles. "Sorry kid, I gotta do this…" The tone of his voice clearly spoke regret, and TK knew just by looking at him that the man would rather be anywhere else but here.

Takeru offered a smile, as weak as it was. "No, it's alright. I understand." Using the wall to help him, he stood to his feet. He found that his body lacked its usual strength, but this was mostly due to the fact that he had lost his will. The fight seemed over. He just hoped that the others would forgive him for his blunder, and that they would be able to live a good life, even in a place like this.

A sad smile crossed the face of the jailor. "So it's true, what they say about you. Always doing the right thing." With this he latched the metal cuffs onto the boy's hands, then chained them together. Shackles were also placed on his feet so he couldn't run. Takeru knew that Sir Guy would take all the precautions necessary in order to ensure his death…even though he wasn't really the one he wanted, technically. He was just a teenaged boy who had happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time…just like the rest of his friends were. But there would be no explaining that to anyone in this era.

The trek up the dark, dank staircase was arguably the longest trip Takeru had ever taken. His death awaited him at the top, he knew, and he was in no rush. The heavy wooden door at the top was opened, and the morning light came pouring in. He had to shield his eyes for he was so unaccustomed to it. What little light had reached him had been drowned out mostly by the darkness. The sun had not quite risen, but its face was just beginning to show over the horizon. Not much time left, he knew.

Sure enough, a crowd had gathered. Most of them stood in silence, some of them crying. All had looks of despair written across their faces. For them, their last hope of ever being freed from the oppression that Sir Guy had inflicted upon them was being destroyed before their eyes.

Taking a deep breath, his eyes landed upon the gallows. The hangman was already waiting there, but Sir Guy had yet to show up. It would only be a matter of time.

-----------

The forest could not have been more silent. The crowds had not generated enough noise so that it went that far, for they were fairly quiet. The sound of running footsteps could suddenly be heard, and a young man approached Sir Guy on his palomino stallion.

"They've lead him out; he's got shackles on his hands and feet. Sir Guy hasn't come out of the castle yet, but that will come soon. But I suspect we'll know when he does come."

Sure enough, as soon as the man had spoken, the roar of the crowd could suddenly be heard. Some of it was no doubt in reverence to the man, but most of it was of rage and hatred. There would be guards to hold back the masses.

Sir Richard nodded, lifting a hand. "We move now." With a light squeeze of his legs the stallion moved forward at a walk. The circle began to close in. They would go in as far as they could without being noticed. It was the hope that Sir Guy would be expecting an attack of stealth, not one that could be seen from plain view. All the scouts had been disposed of earlier; this was confirmed as they actually had a man on the inside. His contact had been limited to that, for he feared for his own life.

Soon they were out of the forest, and everything became all that much harder for them. Now they could be seen, and shot at. Though they wore armour, the expert archers of the guard would no doubt have no problems piercing it. Hooves clicked upon the cobble stone pathways, but the crowds drowned the noise out. A couple of the horses began to grow nervous, and tried to break out. They were rounded up by those closest to them and put back in to line. Other than that, there were no complications.

-----------

Takeru had only been standing upon the platform for a few moments when the crowd suddenly erupted into a deafening roar. Turning his eyes towards the castle he could see Sir Guy riding towards them on his horse. _'And he couldn't even walk here…'_ Takeru thought, bitterly. It really wasn't that far from the castle.

He reached the platform and dismounted, then got up beside the boy. He began a speech, to which the crowd responded to in mixed ways. Takeru wasn't really aware of what was being said, but it didn't matter to him. He could see the guards stationed around the platform, and outside the perimeters of the town square, where everything was being held.

All of a sudden he was aware of a sharp pain in his side, and then the jeering laughter of Sir Guy and his faithful few. Clenching his teeth he took liberty to look down, and saw that his shirt was now turning a nice shade of crimson. The man had stabbed him. But there was nothing he could do about it now.

He was then shoved, causing him to stumble and almost fall, as his hands and feet were bound. The hangman also seemed to have the same look as the jailor did; he was just doing his job. _'Not really a pleasant one, mind you…'_ came the thought. But one had to make a living somehow.

Looking down he saw that he was standing on a trap door. _'It's just like in the movies. Except the director isn't going to yell "cut" any time soon…'_ The noose was placed around his neck, and pulled tight, but not too tight. It really wasn't to suffocate, for the object was to break his neck. The platform was quite high, and Takeru really wasn't looking forward to the fall. He jus hoped that everything would be quick.

Another few words were said by Sir Guy, but again the boy wasn't listening to him. Jaw was clenched, and the pain in his side didn't seem so horrible any more, compared to what was coming. He suddenly found that his face was wet with tears. Bitter, angry tears. He was mad at himself for not doing everything better. He had rescued Hikari, yes, but now she, along with the others, would be stuck here forever. All because of him. He felt so helpless in his state…there was nothing more that he could do. There was no hope in him now.

But then something happened that he did not expect. Sir Guy stopped his rant, and he swore, and his yelling changed. It became frantic, and he was barking out orders…to the guards? Looking he saw a shuffling in the crows, and the guards were running towards the back. More were streaming from the castle and other places. It seemed like the whole army was in the town square now. Suddenly the sound of hoof beats was as thunder, and there were horses coming in from all directions. Takeru recognized the golden mount of Sir Richard, and suddenly felt ashamed that he would think so little of his friends…that they wouldn't come for him. Then he was frustrated. Hadn't he told them not to come? It would only be their demise. Sir Guy was clearly far more powerful than they. As of yet he had not seen Hikari, but he knew, and dreaded, in his heart that she was there.

Soon horse and human collided, and swords were swinging. They were trying to get to him. Sir Guy began to laugh again, and this time his words reach him. "Now you get to watch all your friends die. I knew they'd come, but not like this. In a way, I'm glad. Makes for better entertainment, don't you think?"

This angered the boy beyond belief, and he lashed out, trying to strike him some way. The older man simply dashed back, laughing even more.

-----------

Hikari had been fitted with a small dagger, though she hoped she didn't have to use it. About halfway into the city she had dismounted, and she had put on a simpler dress, as to blend with the crowds. Moving quickly she ended up in the masses, and watched as Sir Guy stabbed her friend in the side. She suddenly envisioned herself ripping the man apart. Shock hit her following the thought…when did she become so violent.

Perhaps it was because he was threatening a person she loved. Loved? Well, cared for deeply, at any rate. But it wasn't the time to think about that. She had a mission to do, and she had little time to do it.

She had made her way to the front of the crowds, pushing her way through the masses of bodies. A shout told her that her companions had been spotted, and suddenly everyone began to shift. Castle guards ran passed her, and she stopped for a moment, hoping none would recognize her. They didn't. And now there were only a few left, stationed at the platform. If only she could get close…

The girl was at the front now; the guards had their backs to her. Now was her chance. Not even thinking she bolted forwards, and hit beneath the structure. Getting up would be the hard part, for she couldn't wait until the door fell. He would break his neck, and it would be over.

But, as fate would have it, Hikari wasn't so lucky as to be moving through there unseen. Sir Guy had caught but a glimpse of her auburn hair, and he knew immediately that it was her. He moved to the guard that was with him, and spoke a few words. The man nodded, and left the platform.

Takeru thought that he had just instructed him to join in the tumult. To his horror, a few moments later, he returned with the wriggling Hikari in hand. The boy's heart fell. Now it was all over. They exchanged a glance, but it was broken when Sir Guy got in the way.

"I knew you were going to come. For a moment I thought you were going to disappoint me, but it seems you haven't." He stood in front of her, using a finger to lift her chin. She spit in his face. "Oh, you'll regret that later." He said, his voice eerily calm.

He stepped back, allowing the two to see each other again. The crowd seemed to disappear. There was a pensive look on the man's face. "You see, now I am faced with a dilemma. Who do I kill first?" He turned to TK. "I could kill her right now and watch you suffer knowing that you caused her death." His sword was drawn, and it was pointed in the girl's direction. "Or", he turned. "I could kill him, Miss Marion, and then watch _you_ suffer." He stopped to think for a moment, a smile crossing his lips. "Or I could kill him and allow you to live, forcing you to suffer with what you have done. And my men have been mostly ordered to keep your companions alive, and they would be my leverage. If you should attempt to kill yourself, or succeed, they will be put to death. How does that sound?"

"You're sick." She said angrily.

"Yes, well, it happens. But I guess we'll just have to wait until this fun is all over, because no one's paying attention. There's no point in it being public if no one's watching." He crossed his arms and waited.

"Oh, try anything funny and I'll kill him without hesitation."

So either way, Hikari was going to live. But it wouldn't be much of a life.

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Sir Richard and his men were growing tired. Some had been slain, and the bodies of horses and men now lay strewn in the streets. It was a sickening sight, to those who had never experienced it before. Miyako almost lost her breakfast, but managed to hold it in. She could tell that Mimi, and even Sora, were going through the same thing. The look on Matt's face told them it was difficult for him as well, but he was dealing with it. His brother was first priority. Killing Digimon was one thing, but killing people was a different thing entirely, and understandably so. No one seemed to have noticed what had happened to Hikari.

Sir Guy's men brought their onslaught endlessly…the line of men never seemed to weaken. They were going to lose this fight.

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Calmer of the Storm: Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo yeah. I know it's a little shorter than before, but a lot happened! And I left a cliff hanger (hehe). But I do know what's going to happen, and there's only two more chapters left!

Cody: At the rate you're going, you'll be done a year from now.

Calmer of the Storm ; uh…I'll work on that. I'm hoping to finish it before summer…but we'll see how that goes….Bye for now!


	13. When hope seems lost

Calmer of the Storm: So I'm still here! Yay! I'm alive. And I will hold to my promise. The next chapter will be the final one, and it's been a long time coming, lol. But for now, I write!

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To say that the situation was looking hopeless would be an understatement. Countless men had been slaughtered, on both sides, and the overall morale of the mass was wearing thin. Tears came to Hikari's eyes as she watched. She hadn't been able to pick any faces out of the crowd, and that frightened her. Hopefully it just meant that everyone was out of sight. But knowing that she could have somehow prevented all of this was tearing her apart. If only she had been more careful…more prudent in her workings. If only she had been stronger...braver. Maybe then would things have turned out differently.

And now she couldn't even move. Her best friend…her confidant, her…she didn't want to go one. After all, she was still a little confused as to where they stood on that subject. And it wasn't exactly the time to be thinking about that. But she wanted to be closer to him…to truly stand by his side in this moment of turmoil. To feel the comfort…the hope…that he always brought with him. Even in this dark time he still exuded that brilliant optimism that could spark the smallest light within her. Though she knew that if she made even the slightest motion towards him, he would no longer be there for her. Sir Guy stood there with his sword ready to plunge through the heart of the boy should she try anything.

Really there wasn't anything she could do about it.

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Things on the other front weren't going so well, either. The onslaught of Sir Guy's men seemed endless, while Sir Richard's men were dwindling. Though the chosen children were quite surprised at their prowess in battle, the bliss of it all seemed to wear off after a few short moments.

Taichi whipped around at the sound of a scream. It was a miracle that, amidst the tumult, he had heard it, but it was a cry that was familiar to him. Sora. Immediately he spotted her fiery air, and immediately he leapt into action. Without thinking he leapt into action, his sword pointed forwards. She had been caught off guard by someone from behind, and she had realized it too late. It was only her instinct to scream, but it would be the thing that saved her. Without thinking Taichi plunged his sword through the upper torso of the man.

Even though Sora was safe, he dropped the blade with the realization of what he had done. His eyes went wide and the battle was momentarily forgotten. Sora threw herself at him, partially because she needed to and partially because _he_ needed her to. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. He shook from the shock of what he had just done. He had lunged at others before, though he had always taken great care to never truly cut. Sometimes he had slipped…but it was never fatal. This…this was something else entirely.

One could never forget the feeling of driving one's sword through the chest of another living, breathing being. Even if they were part of a past that had already been written, and that if it didn't happen this way, the future was perhaps at steak. At least, the future of ten individuals who had been whisked away by one they never thought they would meet.

The two of them ducked into a corner, with Taichi still recovering. Something seemed to have covered them from the battle, for they were, for the most part, ignored.

"I killed him…Sora he's dead…he's dead because of me…." Was all he could say.

Sora put her hands on his face, forcing him to look her in the eye. "And it would have been me, had you not." Her voice was soft yet stern, as she knew he needed to hear it like that. She too was still recovering from this near death experience, but she knew that it was very hard for him at the moment. He needed her to be strong.

"It had to be done at some point, Taichi…we won't win this battle if we don't fight with everything we have. If we don't win, we will never go home. We'll never see our friends and families again…we'll be stuck here. And I don't even want to think about the life that awaits us if that happens."

He was silent, though he was pale as a ghost and slight tremors still wracked his body. Mentally this was not an easy subject to deal with. He wouldn't get over it soon.

At this point Yamato had made his way over. The blonde boy was covered in sweat, and he didn't stop to ask about the moment the two of them were having.

"I just came from the front…He got Kari. Sir Richard's gone…no one can find him. The others are fine, but failing." He was, of course, referring to the other digidestind.

"What are we going to do?" It was Sora who had spoken, for Tai was still getting over the incident that had just passed. It didn't even register that his sister was in trouble.

Matt shook his head. "I have no idea…but it's looking pretty bad…" He wasn't one to exaggerate, so Sora knew that his evaluation was probably correct…and really, she knew that to be true as well.

Leaning against the wall beside Tai, she heaved with a sigh. If one took a good look at the three of them they would see the bruises and scrapes that covered their bodies, and the weariness that engulfed them. No longer did they look like a bunch of youth, but war-torn soldiers that had seen too much in their day. Of course, this was partially the truth, as their young eyes had already seen things that no living person should ever have to see. They had lived things that would take the heart of the bravest men…and perhaps that was why they had been chosen. Only a child would go through such a life with such resistance, for the hope and faith that was there was unbreakable.

Until situations like this.

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A voice shouting at her caused her to lift her head. It was that of Daisuke. Hikari looked at him with pleading eyes; she did not want for him to get any closer. Takeru had seen him as well, and his eyes said the same thing. To his left was Miyako, with Ken not far behind her. Cody, at this point, was not in sight.

Hikari wanted to scream at them to go away; to save themselves, but she knew it would be in vain. They would not hear her over the sounds of combat. With this knowledge she sank to her knees, defeat radiating from her every being.

"Kari…" It was Takeru who had spoken. He looked down at her, a forlorn look in his own eyes. He was trying to hang on…trying to be strong. If not for himself, than for her. He knew she was fading, but he couldn't handle seeing her like this. She was always so full of life…full of light. Even in those times when she had been pulled beyond the land of light, there had still been something about her. A tiny glimmer that when ignited by hope could drive away that darkness. But this…this situation was different. And he was seeing that he could do nothing to help her. He wanted to take her in his arms, if only to be with her during what would seem to be his last moments. But his arms were tied, and the threat of being severed was rather overbearing.

The girl didn't look at him, she only stared out onto the masses. Tears brimmed in her eyes and threatened to fall. A couple spilled over. They were tears not for herself, but for the others that were out there. She was still feeling that it was her fault that no one would be able to get back home. Hopefully they would all get out in time…maybe they could run. Maybe they could live lives of their own. If they could do that, it would bring her some margin of comfort. But they couldn't come after her…she would have to sacrifice herself for them.

But it broke her heart to know that Takeru wouldn't be joining them. Because of her he would dead within the hour…she was sure of it. Unless some sort of miracle happened, this was it. This was the end.

"Does it pain you, to know that you could have saved them? If you had only agreed to marry me and if you had done all I had asked, they would have been free to live their lives. And now look what you've done…condemned them all." The sneer in his voice was unmistakable.

It evoked a sob from the girl who was on her knees, a pained look on her face. Here eyes were distant; not focused on anything.

"Leave her alone." Growled the boy, who was still bound with the noose around his neck.

The older man only laughed. "And look at you…her mighty protector to the end. But you can't protect her anymore. How does that make _you_ feel?"

Takeru gritted his teeth and only stared; a fire and hatred in his eyes that was reserved only for the purest of evils. "We'll find a way out of this…and you'll regret everything you've said."

Sir Guy shook his head, a smirk upon his face. "We shall see about that, boy."

With these words he kicked him in the stomach, causing him to groan with the pain. It wasn't a light gesture at all. This caused Hikari to turn around, tears staining her cheeks. Worry and horror was written across her face, as pain occupied the boy's beside her. But she couldn't reach out to him…he would be dead if she tried that.

He saw the look she had given him, and he mustered the best smile he could. "Don't worry…I'm fine…" though the strain in his voice told him that he clearly wasn't.

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Down on the ground, the trio that had made their way to the front had seen all of this transpire. No matter what they did, they couldn't get any closer. Their bodies were tiring, as they weren't used to such physical work.

"Davis…we can't keep this up much longer!" It was Miyako who had spoken.

Ken was behind her; the two were standing back-to-back for better protection. He was doing his best, but despite all of his own training and work, his body was beginning to fail as well. "We should fall back…" He wasn't one to run from a battle, but he knew his limits.

"No! I'm not leaving her!" He yelled back, after dodging an attack.

"Davis!" Yelled Miyako, forever irked by his obstinate nature. She would drag him out of here if she had to. Not that she didn't care for the two that were on the platform in the centre of the square; she just knew that they would want them to regroup and find some other way to go about things. This was suicide, and all of them knew that.

But Davis was forever being himself, and it would get him killed.

Just as the girl was about to make her move towards him, a blade caught him in the shoulder. Her eyes widened and his earth-shattering cry was sent out, momentarily stopping the skirmish around them. He retaliated, but his assailant had darted away. Blood rushed from his wound, and a searing pain hit him. At any other time it would have probably sent him over the edge, but his adrenaline was in full gear.

"Davis!" Screamed Miyako, eyes filled with concern. She and Ken fought their way over to him, but he was insistent that he was fine. But all three of them knew that he wouldn't be. It was his fighting arm that had been damaged, and he would not be able to use it. As soon as those around him realized…things would only get worse.

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The battle raged on, and things were only going downhill. The three in hiding were still recovering, though having to fight off the odd attacker. Cody was on a roof top with some archers, protecting the entrances. But the swell of people was becoming too much for him, and his staff could only take so much damage. It would break before too long. The other five were in no better situations. All seemed lost.

It was at that moment that something happened that no one could expect. A trumpet sounded, though only few heard it. Again the call was made, and it attracted more attention.

An angry look crossed the face of Sir Guy; this was not his doing. "What is the meaning of this?" He demanded, yelling at one of the guards near him. The man could only shrug; he was as bewildered as the rest of them.

Again the trumpet sounded, and eyes turned towards the centre street. Those off to the sides continued to fight, oblivious to the change in tides. Followed by this trumpet sound was that of a mighty roar. Thunder seemed to be rolling in, but it was the drumming of hooves against the cobblestone roads. Sir Richard's men had all dismounted for mobility's sake; and he had no more to spare.

This was a different army entirely.

It wasn't a huge one; perhaps thirty horses. But they thundered through the streets at an alarming rate, stopping not to take into account the people that were there. In the centre of this herd there was a brilliant white horse, though other than that neither it nor its rider stood out. The sea of people parted, because they knew that if they didn't they would be run over. Despite the small size, however, one couldn't help but feel that this was only the tip of the iceberg.

At the riders approached the platform, the horses slowed to a trot, then a walk. As they reached it they too parted, making way for the one who rode in the centre of them all. He was an older aged man, with sandy coloured hair and a beard to match. His green eyes were piercing, and filled with a wisdom that was not found in many places. His body was a little on the lean side, though it looked as though that were more a result of lack of food than anything. Despite his almost frail appearance there was a commanding air about him that was hard to refuse. He looked at Sir Guy with a stern gaze that seemed to go right through the man.

Sir Guy, at this point, was white as a ghost. His sword clanged to the ground at the realization of who stood before him.

"Your Majesty…"

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Calmer of the Storm: So there you have it! The second last chapter of this epic story!!!

Okay…so maybe it's not that epic. Lol. But it's up!


	14. All will come to an end

Calmer of the Storm: Wow. I apologize for taking so long. It's been over a year. I've been busy and mostly unmotivated…but here it is! It's the final chapter! And the conclusion to my last story, unless I am consumed by another moment of insanity. I will probably pop out a one-shot here and there, but I can't promise anything more than that. It's been fun :)

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The battle had come to a standstill. Nobody on either side could find it in themselves to move anymore. All weapons were lowered, some even dropped. Even those that could not see what had caused the change had sensed that something was not entirely right. Those on the outskirts of the square and in the alleys began pressing together, closing the gap that had been made for this new group as quickly as it had been opened. Those on rooftops had moved to the edges, and all strained to see what was going on.

Hikari and Takeru exchanged a glance as they remained on the platform, both of them uncertain as to what this meant. The appearance of this man had stopped the battle itself, and Sir Guy was trembling at the sight of him. The King. It was King Richard the Lionheart. How he was _here_ right now was completely unexplainable. Had he not been a prisoner of war? Had they not ransomed him for an impossible amount of money?

Sitting on his great white horse, the king was level with the platform. His green eyes were trained on Sir Guy, and there was a look in them that was rather difficult to place. It seemed to be one of…amusement. But what would a king find so funny about returning home to chaos? It was not unknown to the people that this man had intended to take the throne for himself. Everyone knew the impossibility of their king coming home to them. They all knew that they would be subjected to Sir Guy of Carleton's rule. Even Sir Guy himself had known that.

"Why do you tremble, old friend? Come; greet your king as is proper." His eyes danced with the statement, but there was an underlying note in his voice that told those within hearing range that Sir Guy would not be let off so easily, if he was to be let off at all.

"Y-yes, of course Sire. My apologies…" The man stood to his full height, and then prepared himself to offer a rather elegant bow.

The mirth still danced in the king's eyes. "Now, I should like an explanation for all of this. It would seem as though someone has made for much cleaning up…"

Sir Guy wasted no time in presenting his case. "I was acting as steward, as was charged to me. But this insolent young man," he pointed to Takeru, who was still standing with a noose around his neck, "has been stealing from the royal treasury. He has gathered the people against the crown, and with the help of Sir Richard he is leading a revolt."

The king raised an eyebrow. "Leading a revolt while standing at the gallows? My, he is a talented boy."

The other man searched for words. "H-his companions are leading it, of course. I mean, there is no way that such a fool could lead a revolt. He isn't very smart, to have gotten himself caught."

An amused smile twitched at the king's lips. "Oh? But he is smart enough to lead a band of outlaws against the crown…and cause quite a stir. He must have the people's trust." The wording and tone of his last sentence indicated something far deeper; that Takeru and his friends had earned the trust of the people, and Sir Guy had not.

Finally the Lionheart turned his attentions to the boy. "Do you deny the charges laid against you?" The question was serious, and Takeru knew that his very life hung on the balance.

The boy shared another glance with the girl, who was still on her knees beside him. In her eyes were was now hope; hope that had not been there before. King Richard was a fair king; it was just a matter of convincing him. He loved his people, and they just needed to convince him that keeping all of the 'rebels' alive was in their best interest.

"I am guilty only of doing what is right for the people. When they were being cheated out of their profits I merely took what was theirs back. When taxes were raised I brought back what was their due. I have acted only to protect, looking only for the good of the kingdom. And if his majesty holds that as a crime, then I will accept the charges that had been laid." Takeru had to keep his composure and not allow the surprise at what he had just said show through. These words were not his own, for in truth, since coming here the only unlawful acts he had committed consisted of stealing future brides from their husbands' homes.

Once more, King Richard seemed amused. The look on his face was gentler now however, but it did not lack that unpredictable hard edge. "And just how is it that you find yourself in such a position?"

It was Kari who spoke up, knowing that Takeru would not adequately explain the situation. "If I may explain, Sire…" She was given a look that she interpreted as telling her to continue, "T…Robin is a friend of mine, whom I have known for quite some time. He has been a change in the routine of my noble life, and I am grateful for it. Sir Guy…he spoke with my father and arranged for me to dwell in the castle with him, with the final intention of becoming my husband. However I never wished for such a thing, for my heart…" she hesitated, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink, "…it belongs elsewhere…" It was embarrassing enough, confessing to the boy you had had a crush on for so many years, but telling it to everyone else was much worse.

"When Sir Guy threatened me I knew there was no escape. Gladly I would have given my own life, but he held the lives of others over my head, knowing I could not then refuse his commands. Robin was merely here to save me, but was captured in the process." She was no longer just speaking as Hikari, just as Takeru had not only used his own words. They were speaking as the characters from the stories; from legends and histories.

"What is your name, child?"

"Marion, Sire."

"And Marion, you swear to me that you speak the truth? And anyone in the castle that I choose to interrogate will tell me the same thing?"

"Yes."

The King nodded. "I'll think over this matter some more. In the meantime, get this mess cleaned up."

With that, the white stallion was turned from his spot on the platform, and once more the crowds parted to let him through. This time he headed towards the castle, where he would continue his dealings as king. He had been gone for quite some time now, and evidently there were things he needed to fix.

When the king was out of sight, Sir Guy kicked the hilt of his sword in a fit of rage, sending it off the platform. The metal clanged as it hit the ground, and was only drowned out by the sound of his infuriated cry. But there was nothing more that he could do now. Not even the wretched boy could be killed. But he would not leave without some respite. With one last swing of his arm, his fist connected with Takeru's face with a loud _crack_. All those in hearing range cringed, but none would move.

"Get out, you fools…All of you!" He screamed, and his men began shuffling. Some did not move, for they wished not to face his wrath. And they knew that later, when it came time to deal with the king, it would be better for them if they no longer bore any allegiances to him.

Sir Guy left the platform, and people began to move about. Kari rose from her spot and flung herself at Taker, wrapping her arms around his body. His cheek was already bruising, as was indicated by the slight discoloration. It would take a few days to heal properly.

But this pain was nothing, in light of what they had all been spared from. The noose was lifted from around him and his hands untied, at which point he wasted no time in taking the girl up in his arms as he had so longed to do so. Only now his embrace was not one of comfort; it was one of celebration. Upon parting he still did not let go, and she did not seem so willing. Hikari's smile was bright, and she leaned up to place a gentle kiss on his lips, careful of his injured face.

Out of those who saw the exchange there was only one who lacked the happiness for the young couple. But Davis would find his way around that one. There just had to be a way.

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Two weeks had passed since the battle in the town square. The body count had been higher than what anyone would have liked, but all they could do was mourn the losses and remove the bodies. The debris was next, and as punishment for fighting it was all those who had participated that were charged with getting rid of it all. Next came the fix-up stage, where carts and windows and doors had to be replaced and mended. Out of those that were doing this it was only those that had fought on the side of Sir Guy that held any sort of disgruntled feelings for all of this, though they knew they had gotten off easy.

Their leader, however, had not been so lucky. Sir Guy of Carleton had quickly been placed on trial, much to his outrage. It would seem as though the man had completely lost his mind, and was in a complete fit as to the fact that he was being put on trial where the notorious Robin Hood was not. But the people had spoken, and the trial was put through. Over a unanimous jury and a flurry of angry witnesses, Sir Guy was condemned guilty of plotting against the crown, threatening a noble, and stealing from the people. He was sentenced to life in prison, where he could forever contemplate what he had done.

As for Robin Hood and his merry band of outlaws, they were asked to remain in the city. The Chosen Children were all anxious to return to their home in the forest, where they could figure out what to do next. History had been righted…or so it appeared. But nothing had happened. They had not found themselves back on the sunny beach that they had left. The feeling of hope that had accompanied the victory was quickly fading as it looked more and more like there was something else they were missing. And they had no way of knowing whether or not it was something they had yet to do, or something they had missed. But there was nothing they could do about it now except for wait.

The king had requested that they dwell in the servant's quarters of the castle, for he wished to speak with them all once the trial of Sir Guy was finished. Kari had been called to witness, going into further detail about her plights. All the others had been deemed too biased for a proper testimony, but it was not needed. The people had done away with him themselves.

The chaos had not completely subsided, but it was on the very edges of being completely subdued. There were still a few loose ends to tie, among the ranks of the soldiers and what to do with the outlaws themselves. One afternoon they had been called into a meeting with the king, where they sat with him around a circular table. The ten of them all sat in silence, knowing that the outcome of this meeting could change their fates. Whether this was the missing piece they did not know, but they were running out of hope. It was beginning to feel like they would never get home. The only thing that kept things going was that they were all together and intact; no one had been seriously harmed in the battle. Davis' wound had been deep, but with rest it would heal nicely. All the others had gotten by with mere scrapes and bruises.

"Now, you're probably all wondering why I've called you here today." The King began.

No one said a word, but the glances that were shot around the room said it all.

"In light of the current situation, I cannot allow all of you to go unpunished. I realize that you were protecting the people, but I cannot allow such seeds of rebellion to be sown. I know that none of you would ever lay a hand against me, but I do not wish for others to get that idea. The people must know that there is punishment for acting against any sort of government, no matter how horrible the rule."

He was a king…they understood this. He had to keep the faith of his people, and he needed to keep their respect. While he was powerful, a king was nothing without his people. And they had rallied those people against themselves. It was a collective understanding, though nothing was said. The information was taken in silence, and so the sentence would be also.

"Robin, you are the master mind of this operation, and thus I will order you to serve two years in my army. Next week you will set off with my troops to the front lines, where you will serve my purposes. Should you return, you are free to do as you wish." Takeru swallowed, but nodded his head. This was to be his fate.

"As for the rest of you, the punishment will be the same. The women will work in the infirmaries, as I do not expect you to fight alongside my men," a wry smile crossed his lips at this point, "though I know you are fully capable. But we are short on care, and your knowledge of living in the wilderness will do us some good. You will set out in the regiment next month, where the need is the greatest.

"Marion…you are to remain here. You did not participate in the battle, and therefore I have no crime against you. You are free to leave this meeting now, if you wish."

So that was it, then. They were all to be separated. The boys would go in a week, and the girls in a month. But Hikari would remain here at the castle, most likely, not helping at all. The knowledge that her friends would be out there without her was too painful. She would have Sora, Mimi and Miyako for the next month, but the rest would be leaving soon. To have just discovered the depth of her feelings for the blonde-haired boy and then have no time to spend with him…it was too much. And her brother, Taichi. What would become of him? He was a reckless fighter. And Davis too. Cody was so young, and Mimi fainted at the sight of blood. Miyako would lose her temper with anyone who crossed her. Sora, Yamato and Ken…would she see them all again? It was probably inevitable that at least one of them would not be coming home. To die here…it was not a fitting end. For the group of Chosen Children that they were, they had fallen short this time.

After a few moments of deliberation, Hikari shook her head. She was seated beside Takeru, who had reached out and grasped her hand in his, and was stroking it soothingly. "I'll go to the battle too. I'll leave with the women…I'll help out in the infirmary. Sire, I do not wish to go against your rule, but even more so…" she glanced at the faces around the table with her, "I do not wish to leave my friends behind. Where they go, I will go also." Once more she felt as though she were not speaking on her own words and strength, but of those of the character whose roll she now filled.

A smile broke out on the king's face. "Very well then, it shall be as you wish. You are all free to go." And something about his statement told them that he had expected such a thing to happen all along.

As the ten of them rose from their chairs, it was hard to deny the feeling of dread that had clouded the room. The king could not feel it, for he was not attuned to their troubles. All of them knew what this meant; they had missed something. Somewhere along the line, something had gone wrong. The history…the legend…it had been re-written in a way that had forced them to dwell in this past forever. And they all knew that they should get used to it.

They exited the round chamber and ended up into the grand hallway, which opened up into the throne room. The sun was descending in the sky, as was evident by the way its blinding light shone through the back windows of the hall, blocking their view of the main room. But not even this could brighten their spirits. The thought of never seeing home again was not sitting too well with them. Their parents…their friends…even the digimon. That was all gone. Joe and Izzy had not made the trip with them, and all of them were glad for it. At least there would be someone who would have a small inkling as to what had happened to them. It would be interesting to see what story they would come up with…

The sound of seagulls and the waves on the beach was the next sound that they heard. Suddenly the ten children found themselves standing in the very spot they had been in when they had left. Nothing had changed; their stuff was still packed. The sun was still dipping lower, down into the ocean. It took a moment for them to figure it out, as they were all simply stunned by what they were experiencing. They were _home_…

"We did it…I don't know how…but we…we did it!" It was Taichi, who was the first to proclaim the collective sentiments of the group.

A laughter broke out among them; it was one of relief and of slight insanity. How on earth they had managed to do this, none of them knew. Whatever it was, they had done it right. None of them would be going to war; none of them would die on the frontlines. They would all have to go to school again; they would all grow up, get married to the people they chose, and have families and jobs…and none of these things would be taken for granted.

Not much else was said, for each needed the time to process what they had been through. They were used to this; it wasn't the first time they had been transported to another world. But even still…they had been dealing with people and not digimon. It had been harder.

"Hey, Kari?" It was Takeru who had spoken, and he had made his way over to the girl after his and Yamato's car had been packed.

"Yes?"

"Um…so…are you…busy tomorrow night? I was just wondering if…you'd like to do something…"

She couldn't ignore the blush on his face, and the way he could not meet her eyes as he asked the question. "I think I might be able to pencil you in…"

The grin that followed made her laugh, to which her older brother only rolled his eyes. Takeru had begun his trek back to the car, however he seemed to make a quick decision and darted back. Before Hikari could get into the car, he placed a light kiss on her cheek.

"See you tomorrow." And with that he was gone again, leaving the girl blushing a bright red in the passenger seat of the car.

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It was a little later, when the sky was much darker, that Hikari and Taichi were crossing through the front door to their home. It had never looked so good. Their mother was cooking…and it had never smelled so good either. Both of them knew that this might be the only time the actually _wanted_ their mother's cooking, but she would be happy.

After her stuff was deposited into her room, Hikari made her way into the kitchen. Her mother had her back to her, but the girl knew that she was aware of her presence.

"Kari, hun, can you get me the butter?"

Without a word she reached into the fridge, passed something green that used to be orange, and pulled out the butter and placed it on the counter.

"Thank you. How was your day at the beach?"

Hikari was glad that her mother was not looking at her, for she had closed her eyes and drawn in a deep breath. "Fine. The weather was nice." She couldn't say anything more than that.

"Oh, well that's good. I'd heard it was supposed to rain or something. Maybe that was tomorrow's weather…"

Hikari had to smile at her mother's absent-minded nature. She remained in the kitchen, now more willing than ever to help with whatever concoction she was whipping up. And she would eat all of it, for her mother's homemade disasters would much, much better than anything anyone ever got in the realm that she had just come from.

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Calmer of the Storm: Alrighty. So there you have it! It's been a long ride…wow. 4 years. I was looking back at some of the earlier chapters…my writings sucks! I'm tempted to re-write them…haha. We'll see. I should win a prize or something for longest time it takes to get a story out xD

The ending wasn't the best, but I kinda wanted it anti-climactic. But I'm passed the point of caring...it's 12:17 Christmas morning and I'm sleepy. So Merry Christmas everyone, and I'll see you guys around!


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